]3 D(, O 



CHRISTIAN RESEARCHES 



IN 



iJV MDCCCXXIIf. AND MDCCCXXIV. 



IN FURTHERANCE OF THE OBJECTS 



BY THE 

REV. WILLIAM*JOWETT, M.A 

ONE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SOCIETY, 
AND LATE FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 



j I 
WITH 

AN APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING 

THE JOURNAL OF MR, JOSEPH GREAVES, 

ON A VISIT TO THE REGENCY OF TUNIS. 



SECOND EDITION. 



LONDON: 

PRINTED BY R. WATTS, CROWN COURT, TEMPLE BAR. 
PUBLISHED, FOR THE SOCIETY, 

BY L. B. SEELEY & SON, AND J. H A.TCHARD & SON 
1826. 




A1 

2> 



DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. 

MAP OF SYRIA To face the Title 

PLAN OF TYRE To face p. 131 

PLAN OF JERUSALEM To face p. 208 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



H aving had the charge of the former Volume of 
Christian Researches, I have undertaken, at the 
request of the Church Missionary Committee, to 
carry through the press this additional Volume; 
which furnishes abundant proof of the enlarged, in- 
telligent, and devout spirit in which the Society's 
Representative continues to prosecute its objects in 
his highly interesting sphere of Christian Labour. 

JOSIAH PRATT. 



London, 
August 1, 1825. 



PREFACE. 



The present Volume is designed as a continuation 
of those Christian Researches, in the prosecution of 
which the Author was engaged during the first fiye 
years of his labours in the Mediterranean, from 1815 
to 1820; and of which an account has already been 
published by the Church Missionary Society. 

In the former publication, a wider range was 
taken; and a general view was given of most of 
the countries adjacent to this sphere of Missionary 
Labour. In this Volume, a fuller description is 
offered of one particular portion of these regions — 
a portion by far the most interesting to Christians, 
on account of its connection with all the great 
events recorded in the Holy Scriptures. 

The limited extent of the region here described 
dispenses with the necessity of that systematic ar- 
rangement, which was observed in the former 
Volume — an arrangement, which was, in fact, ab- 
solutely requisite to the clear developement of the 
condition and opinions of so great a variety of 
Nations and of Churches, as was exhibited in that 
publication. In the following pages, many of the 
Authors observations are given in the form of a 
Journal. It would not, indeed, have been difficult 
to subdivide the Volume into parts, each furnishing 
a separate account of the different classes of society 
to be found in Syria and Palestine. Since, how- 
ever, that small country does, in fact, present an 



vi PREFACE. 

epitome of nearly all the Bodies of men existing 
around the Mediterranean, it is evident, that, in 
such a partition of subjects, some would have been 
found too inconsiderable to form by themselves a 
detached chapter. 

The want of lucid order, incidental to this mode 
of publication, will appear, however, to be, in a 
considerable measure, remedied by the Introductory 
Section of the Work; in which, by means of an ex- 
tensive compilation from a variety of Authors, there 
is presented to the Reader a classical view of the 
different Bodies of Men existing in Syria and Pa- 
lestine. 

In the Sections which follow the Journal, the 
Author has aimed at developing more fully than 
his Journal had done, the condition of the people ; 
not without an ardent hope, that the picture ex- 
hibited may be the means of rousing the British 
Public to a deeper sense of their obligations to 
prosecute Christian Missions in this part of the 
world. Various suggestions, the result of frequent 
communication with men of intelligence and piety, 
are likewise offered, in reference to the character of 
Missionaries and the measures of Missionary and 
Bible Societies. 

In the Appendix is given the Journal of a Visit 
made, last w inter, to the Regency of Tunis by Mr. 
Joseph Greaves — a friend from whose assistance 
the Church Missionary Society has, during several 
years, derived great benefit; and who was desirous 
to attempt at least, previously to his quitting Malta, 
a commencement of Christian Investigation and 
Exertions in North Africa — a region hitherto untrod 
by the feet of any Protestant Missionaries. Besides 



PREFACE. Vii 

distributing many copies of the Holy Scriptures and 
useful Tracts, he has added to our general know- 
ledge of the States of Barbary some valuable and 
interesting particulars, which may hereafter serve a<s 
a foundation of various practical measures. 

The Church Missionary Society has felt the ad- 
vantage of the System of Research thus far conduct- 
ed, with sufficient force to desire that it should be, 
in its proportion, steadily pursued. In fact, the 
former Volume may be considered as a general 
Survey of the whole of the Mediterranean Sphere; 
the particular divisions of which will require, each 
of them in succession, to be filled up, so far as shall 
be found practicable, more in detail. On this plan, 
it would be desirable for the public to be furnished 
with an exact view of the circumstances and opi- 
nions of the following principal countries: — the 
papal states, together with the Nations more im- 
mediately in relation with them — modern Greece — 

TURKEY IN EUROPE AND ASIA ARMENIA, and the 

neighbouring regions — Persia — syria and pales- 
tine (the review of which is, in the present Volume, 
in a considerable measure, executed) — Arabia — 
egypt and nubia — abyssinia — and the barbary 
states. An intelligent investigation of the condi- 
tion of these various regions, prosecuted by the 
different Missionaries in a truly Christian spirit, with 
accuracy of observation, sound judgment, meekness 
of temper, and a practical determination of mind, 
would furnish to the conductors of Missionary and 
Bible Societies, and to Missionaries actually on ser- 
vice, an invaluable depository of information, on 
which to form their opinions and direct their mea- 
sures. 



Vlll PREFACE. 

It is, however, fully to> be borne in mind, that 
such ii System of Research forms only a part — a 
small, and continually decreasing part, of the work 
of a Missionary. Enough has, indeed, been already 
effected, to open an introduction to immediate and 
important labours. The various Christian Societies 
of our own Country, of the Continent, and of 
America would probably all of them concur in this 
judgment, and many of them are acting upon it. 
But the spirit and the measures of all need a vast 
enlargement. It is high time for the faithful mem- 
bers of Christ to be instant in their supplications to 
Him, who is the great Head over all things to the 
Church — that He would vouchsafe to pour out the 
gift of His Holy Spirit more abundantly than ever, 
preparing all the Nations by a feeling of anxious ex- 
pectation of some great event, and at the same time 
sending forth a numerous company of Evangelists 
to visit all the dark places of the Earth in the fulness 
of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. 



CONTENTS. 

UtUqioM Denomination* 

IN SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 



JEWS: 

Rabbinists — Karaites — Samaritans 3 

CHRISTIANS: . . . . 5 

Greeks 6 

Armenians 7 

Syrians 8 

Nestorians 12 

Copts and Abyssinians 14 

Roman Catholics . 15 

Greek 18 

Armenian 21 

Syrian ■. , v .23 

Latin, or Frank 23 

Protestants 24 

MAHOMEDANS : 

Sonnites — Metawalies . 30 

DRUSES 82 

ANSARI ... 50 

ISMAYLY 56 

YESIDIENS 58 

Concluding Remarks 60 



CONTENTS. 



Journal 

OF 

A VISIT TO SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

Beirout 65 

Antoura 66 

Convent of Ain el Warka 75 

Convent of Hareesa 77 

Return to Antoura 78 

Return to Beirout 78 

Deir el Kamr 78 

Ebtedin 79 

Conversation on the Druses 80 

Interview with the Emir Bechir 82 

Palace of Ebtedin 83 

Interview with a Young Abyssinian 84 

Return to Deir el Kamr 86 

Return to Beirout 96 

Fashion of Splendid Dresses 97 

Gandolfi, the Pope's Apostolic Vicar 99 

Druses 100 

Return to Antoura 101 

Course of Studies at Ain el Warka 102 

Luigi Assemanni 102 

Difficulty of traversing Mount Lebanon 104 

Convent of Deir el Shafi . : 104 

Convent of Ybzumar 106 

Discussion with an Armenian Ecclesiatic 109 

Return to Antoura 113 

Convent of Mar Michael 114 

Return to Beirout 114 

Some Account of Beirout 116 



CONTENTS. 



State of the Winds at Beirout . . . 118 

State of the Christians of Beirout . . . . . . . .118 

Manner of reading in Syria 120 

Frank Roman- Catholic Missions ........ 121 

Decayed State of these Missions ........ 122 

Departure from Beirout for Jerusalem . . . . . .124 

Nabyoonas ............... 125 

Saide .125 

From Saide to Sour . . > 129 

Convent of Deir Mhalles 130 

Sour 131 

Ruins of Ancient Tyre 135 

Ancient and Modern Tyre 138 

Khan Nahoura 142 

Fine View of Mount Carmel 143 

Acre 144 

Scene in the Khan at Acre 146 

Prophetical Picture of the Holy Land . . . . . . 148 

Mosque of Djezzar in Acre . . . 149 

Abeline .153 

Sephoury . 154 

Nazareth 154 

Remarks on the Site of Nazareth, illustrative of Luke 

iv. 29. and John i. 46 165 

Tiberias 170 

Safet 180 

Hattyn 186 

Mount of the Beatitudes . . 186 

Cana of Galilee 190 

Return to Nazareth . . 191 

Plain of Esdraelon ......191 

Gennyn 192 

Nablous, or Napolose 193 



( OX TEXTS. 

Conversations with the Samaritans 195 

Remarks on the Samaritans 201 

Departure from Nablous 204 

Sangyl 204 

Bethel 205 

Approach to Jerusalem 206 

Jerusalem 208 

First Feelings and Reflections in Jerusalem .... 208 

Greek Monks 211 

Abyssinian Priest 212 

Greek Convent 214 

Abyssinian Convent 217 

Ysa Petros, a Greek Priest 220 

Reflections on Holy Places 221 

Conversations with Ysa Petros 222 

Monastery of the Holy Cross 224 

Armenians 227 

Church of the Armenian Convent 230 

Jews 231 

Oppressions suffered by the Jews 232 

Jewish Place of Weeping 234 

Oppressions suffered by the Greeks 235 

Tract, by the Author, on the Holy Spirit 236 

Population of Jerusalem 238 

Caesarius, a Greek Ecclesiastic. 239 

Conversation with the Bishop of Nazareth .... 239 

Reflections on the State of the Christians 242 

Jews in Abyssinia 247 

Mosque of Omar 248 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre 250 

Mount of Olives 253 

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives .... 251 
Probable Scene of the Ascension 256 



CONTENTS. 

Bethany 258 

Vineyards and Flocks near Jerusalem 259 

Poorof Siloam 260 

Valley of Hinnom 262 

Burial Grounds 263 

Disturbances at Bethlehem , 268 

Aspect of the Sabbath in Jerusalem 265 

Departure from Jerusalem 268 

Reflections on leaving Jerusalem . 269 

AinYabroud 271 

Returnlto Nablous 274 

From Nablous to Beirout 276 

Itinerary of the Author 279 

NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 

A. Illustrations of Scripture : 

House of the Dead 280 

Gen. xviii. 6, 10, and xxvii. 14, 17 281 

Prov. xi. 21 281 

Isaiah xiv. 8 281 

Isaiah lii. 2, 10 282 

Matt. vi. 3. and Prov. vi. 13 2S3 

Matt. xxvi. 23. and John xiii. 25— 27 . . . .284 

B. The Tantoor, a Female Head-dress in Syria . . . 285 

C. On Tyre 287 

D. State of the Jews at Safet 288 

J2. Enmity of Samaritans to Jews and Christians . . . 289 

F. Population of Jerusalem 290 

G. Number of Convents in Jerusalem 290 

H. Rigour of the Advent Fast . 291 

I. Jews in Abyssinia 292 



CONTENTS. 



Natural, (fftbil, anii tff itgtouo *tate 

OF 

SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

Natural State 297 

Civil State: 

Commerce 310 

Government 312 

Moral and Religious State 318 



Work of an Evangelist, and Education of Natives . . 335 

Notices of Past Measures 336 

Remarks on Past Measures 359 

Hints on Future Measures 368 

1 . To ascertain the nature of the various Classes, 369 

2. How to address these various Classes . . 370 

3. Considerations on great and fixed Establish- 

ments 374 

4. Fitness of the Travelling or Itinerant Cha- 

racter 378 

5. Ability to discourse in the Native Language, 380 

6. Disavowal of all Party-feeling 382 

Critical and Devout Study of the Holy Scriptures . . 386 

Collateral Benefits of such Study — 

1. Qualifies to prepare Native Teachers . . 391 

2. Tends to counteract Divisions 39£ 

3. Recommends the Sufficiency and Free Use 

of the Scriptures 394 



CONTENTS. 



The Bible Society — its Principles, Operations, and Ex- 
tension . . . . 896 

Principles — 

1. The Divine Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, 396 

2. Their Sufficiency for Salvation 397 

3. The Right of all Men to read the Scriptures, 398 

4. The Holy Scriptures are those Books, which, 

on good evidence, are proved to have 
been of Divine Inspiration . . , . . 400 

5. The maintenance, as nearly as possible, of 

a Pure and Original Text 402 

6. New Versions should be executed with the 

utmost advantage that can be had . . . 405 

7. Voluntary Association 410 

Suggestions on the Bible Society at Jerusalem . .411 

Translation of Books 417 

Elementary 418 

Religion 418 

History and Biography 422 

Image- Worship, and Invocation of Saints 425 

The Jews 444 

Appeal for more Labourers 453 



APPENDIX. 

VISIT OF Mil. JOSEPH GREAVES TO TUNIS. 



Voyage to Tunis . . 461 

Arrival and Proceedings at Tunis 462 

Visit to the Ruins of Carthage 485 

Further Proceedings at Tunis ......... 486 



CONTENTS. 



Visit to Bizerta 499 

Return to Tunis 502 

Visit to Susa . 504 

Return to Tunis 511 

Return to Malta 515 



ERRATUM. 
Page 113, line 27, for parlies read paths. 



Utliqiom Bfnominatiom, 

OR 

BODIES OF MEN, 
PROFESSING DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS OPINIONS, 

IN 



B 



RABBINISTS— KARAITES— SAMARITANS. 

In describing the different Classes of People who 
at present dwell in Syria and the Holy Land, it is 
natural to give the first place to that Nation, which, 
in the most ancient periods of history, possessed so 
considerable a portion of this territory, by the title 
of a special gift from Heaven. What we might al- 
most term, the Divine Nobility of this Race, is 
briefly and energetically sketched in those words of 
Scripture: — Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth 
the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and 
the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the 
promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as con- 
cerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God 
blessed for ever. Amen. (Rom. ix. 4, 5.) No Master 
of Heraldry ever pronounced such a majestic train of 
titles; no Country, not the proudest, can present, 
in a condensed form, such a splendid record of its 
privileges and distinctions. There does not, nor 
ever did there exist, such a remarkable Nation as 
that of the Jews — a people terrible from their be- 
ginning hitherto ! 

This family of the Children of Abraham — at- 
tainted and despoiled of its heritage, but not extinct 
— still lingers, a small part of it at least, upon the 
paternal estate; anxious to be found on the spot, at 

b 2 



4 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS; 

the moment of the appearance, daily and hourly 
expected, of their Deliverer and Restorer; or, in the 
event of their death, fondly deeming it meritorious 
to be gathered to the grave of their Fathers. 

From Aleppo to Jerusalem, Jews are to be found 
in all the principal cities : in Mount Lebanon there 
are but few. The Author, in a future part of this 
Volume, gives an account of them, principally in 
those places which he visited. 

The distinction between the two leading Divisions 
of the Jews is extremely simple — the Rabbinical, 
w ho are attached to a multitude of human Traditions 
and Commentaries; and the Karaites, who adhere 
to the simple Text of the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament. 

Besides this leading distinction, there is another, 
which is of a national kind ; that between Jews and 
Samaritans. It may, indeed, very reasonably be 
doubted how far the Samaritans have a claim to be 
classed with the descendants of Abraham. A fuller 
discussion of this point than could be allowed in 
this Preliminary Chapter, w ill be found in a subse- 
quent part of this Volume. It seemed, however, 
not improper to class under this head, a Body which 
professes to ground its Religion entirely upon the 
Five Books of Moses. 

There are, further, distinctions among the Jews, 
arising from differences in their modes of worship, 
or from refinements of speculative opinion. Such 
are the Sects of the Spanish and Polish Jews, the 
Hassidim, &c. of which some notice will appear in 
that part of the following Journal which describes 
Tiberias. 



( 5 ) 



If pure Christianity consist in the enjoyment of 
the Light of Revelation ; in the exercise of Faith, 
Hope, and Charity; and in the maintenance of the 
Unity of the Spirit in tlie bond of Peace — then must 
it be mournfully admitted, that the Professors of out- 
most Holy Faith have, in Syria and Palestine, wan- 
dered very far indeed from the truth and simplicity 
of the Gospel. Darkness* and Discord share the 
dominion here. It is true that there is no part of 
the Christian World into which these foul spirits 
have not, in various degrees, found entrance : but, 
in our present Survey, the sight of them is doubly 
painful ; while we contemplate the intensity of their 
influence, and the melancholy fact, that they should 
be here ruling in that very sphere, where the Reli- 
gion of Light and Love was first promulgated. 

We must not shrink, however, from faithfully deli- 
neating the picture. If the scornful feelings of the 
Infidel should begin to kindle at the description, let 
him reflect that here is no triumph over Christianity, 
but a developement of erring Human Nature. That 
professing Christians have departed from the purity 
of the Faith, no more tends toward a refutation of 
Christianity, than the errors of Idolatry and Poly- 
theism to deprave the doctrine of the Eternal God- 
head. Does a reflecting man doubt the truth, that 
there is One God, because the myriads of the Hea- 
then have worshipped stocks, and stones, and beasts, 
and reptiles ? Neither ought the faith of any Chris- 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

tian Man to be shaken, by seeing that the professors 
of Christianity have multiplied schisms and heresies. 
All these facts serve but to prove the infirmity and 
sinfulness of human nature : they cannot shake the 
truth of Revelation. Although the evidence of the 
doctrine be not apparent in Palestine, yet there is, 
in the Christian Church, one body, and one Spirit, 
even as we are called in one hope of our calling ; One 
Lord, one faith, one baptism; One God and Father 
of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. 
(Ephes. iv. 4 — 6.) He who prays for a spiritual par- 
ticipation of the blessings expressed in that passage, 
and he alone, may, with safety and with painful 
profit, contemplate the following details. 

The professing Christians of Syria and Palestine 
may be thus classed : — 

Greeks of the proper Oriental Church — 

Armenians proper — 

Syrians proper — 

Copts and Abyssinians — 

Roman-Catholics ; namely, 
Maronites — 

Greek Roman-Catholics — 
Ar me nian R o m an - C a th ol i c s — 
Syrian Roman-Catholics — 
Latins, or Frank Roman-Catholics — 
Protestants. 



GREEKS. 

The Greeks, of the proper Oriental Church, are 
numerous in some parts of Syria. The Greek 
Patriarch of Antioch resides generally at Damas- 
cus : the Greek Patriarchs of Jerusalem have, for 



GREEK AND ARMENIAN CHRISTIANS-. 7 

more than a century, taken up their residence at 
Constantinople ; where they have been accustomed 
to assist the Patriarch and the Synod of that See. 
In Aleppo, Damascus, and Jerusalem, these Oriental 
Greeks are in considerable numbers : from the 
maritime towns they have found it expedient to 
withdraw during the present revolution, although 
some remain. In Mount Lebanon they are not 
tolerated, the Romish influence being there predo- 
minant and exclusive : but, to the south, toward 
Jerusalem, the Greeks probably far outnumber 
the Roman Catholics. Their Standard of Faith, 
it is almost superfluous to repeat, is that which the 
Author has mentioned in his former Volume of 
Christian Researches, p. 13.; being formed accord- 
ing to the First Seven General Councils, together 
with the Holy Scriptures. They have been found, 
as in Asia Minor and Greece, so also in Syria and 
Palestine, favourably disposed to the labours of 
the Bible Society. 



ARMENIANS. 

Between Syria and the British Possessions in 
the East Indies, there is a vast tract of country, of 
the actual religious condition of which compara- 
tively very little is known. If we except a small 
portion of Roman-Catholic Greek influence in the 
more western parts of this immense region, it will 
be found to be occupied, so far as Christianity is 
concerned, by Armenians, Jacobite Syrians, and 



8 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

Nestorians, more or less scantily distributed among 
the native Mahomedan Population. 

The Armenian Church holds the opinion of the 
Monophysites, concerning the Incarnation of Jesus 
Christ; in such a manner, however, as to differ from 
the Jacobites, with whom they do not hold commu- 
nion. " They are governed," observes Mosheim, 
" by three Patriarchs. The chief, whose diocese 
comprehends the Greater Armenia, resides at Ech- 
miazin. The second resides at Cis, a city of Cilicia. 
There is a third, residing at Aghtamar, but who is 
looked upon by the other Armenians as the enemy 
of their Church." Besides these, there are other 
Prelates dignified with the title of Patriarch, al- 
though not fully of the same rank; those, namely, of 
Constantinople, Jerusalem, andCaminiec in Poland*. 



SYRIANS. 

The Nestorians do not so properly come under 
the denomination of Bodies existing in Syria, belong- 
ing rather to Mesopotamia f. The Jacobite Syrians 
have also their residence chiefly on the banks of the 
Tigris ; but their Patriarch, who lives near Mardin, 
not unfrequently visits Aleppo, where many rich 
Jacobite Syrians reside. He claims also to be styled 
Patriarch of Antioch : although, at Mosul, resides 
another Jacobite Prelate, who is styled, some- 
times, the Maphrian, sometimes the Primate, of the 
East ; in dignity inferior to a Patriarch, but supe- 

* Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. Century xvi. Sect. 3. Part 1. chap. 2. 
f It is, however, said, that there are Nestorians in Syria. Some 
account of this body will be given in a Note to tins Section. 



SYRIAN CHRISTIANS. 9 

rior to a Metropolitan. (Vide Assemanm Vol. II. 
p. 215. note.) The Jacobite Syrians have also a 
Chapel at the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem \. ■ They 
hold the Monophysite Heresy in common with the 
Copts in Egypt. 

It was about the commencement of the Sixth 
Century that this Heresy was promulgated by Seve- 
rus, a Patriarch of Antioch. A very short time 
afterwards, he was expelled from Syria; and the 
Orthodox Faith was re-established in that country. 
Ere long, however, a follower of his, James Bara- 
daeus, successfully reared again the Monophysite 
Standard ; and, in Egypt and Mesopotamia, they 
have ever since maintained their opinions, receiving, 
from this second advocate of Monophysitism, the 
title of Jacobites. 

The following remarks of the Jesuit Missionaries 
in Syria relative to this Body will describe their sen- 
timents, and the tenacity with which they adhere to 
them : — 

We could greatly wish that the fruits of our Mission were 
more abundant among the heretics; but it is extremely diffi- 
cult to recover them from the error into which they are gone. 
The Syrians, otherwise called the Jacobites, are most deeply 
attached to their peculiar error. They are very numerous. 
They are named Jacobites from one of the disciples of Euty- 
ches and Dioscorus, called Jacob. This disciple revived the 
error of his masters in the beginning of the Sixth Century ; and 
taught publickly, that there was only one nature in J esus Christ, 
composed of two natures, the one divine the other human. 

J The Author is, however, uncertain whether this Chapel belongs 
to the Jacobites or Nestorians. It is called, generally, the Chapel of 
the Syrians. The following words of Assemann seem to give it to 
the Nestorians. " In Syria et Palestina olim frequentissimi: nunc 
unam tantum Ecclesiam Hierosolymis habent." Vol. IV. p. 431. de 
Syris Nestorianis. Anno 1710 ; circiter. 



K) RELTGTOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

It is true that the chief part of these Jacobites do not un- 
derstand what is the point in question ; but their schismatic 
Bishops and Priests boast to them so often the pretended 
sanctity and the profound doctrine of Dioscorus and Barsamas, 
that the common people of this sect, prejudiced as they are in 
favour of these two heresiarchs, cannot imagine that these 
two men, so celebrated among them, should have been capa- 
ble of falling into error. Thus their Priests sounding con- 
tinually in their ears that these two Apostles of their sect, 
namely, Dioscorus the successor of the great St. Cyril in the 
Patriarchate of Alexandria, and Barsamas that famous Monk 
his Archimandrite, have taught them that the divine and 
human nature make but one sole nature in J esus Christ, they 
obstinately hold to that sentiment ; and, if you combat them, 
they only answer by invectives, making the sign of the cross 
with only the middle finger of their hand, holding at the same 
time the other fingers closed, in order to make you understand 
that they acknowledge only one nature in Jesus Christ, and 
that you shall never make them believe the contrary. 

Their obstinacy, great as it is, does not, however, shut our 
mouth. As their conversion depends particularly upon that 
of their Bishops, we wait upon them as often as possible, in 
order that they may be induced to come near us ; and that 
we may have the opportunity of explaining to them what the 
Catholic Faith teaches us, and what we are obliged to believe 
in order to be saved. 

Happily for us, in the visits which we pay them they are the 
first to put us upon those articles of their belief which are 
contrary to ours ; as, for example, the procession of the Holy 
Spirit, and the union of the two natures in Christ. 

Our custom is, to answer them simply with the Holy Gospel, 
which we have in our hand. We oppose to them those 
texts of Scripture, which clearly decide the question ; and the 
Decrees of the Council of Calcedon, which formally condemns 
their errors. (Letlres Edif. et Curieuses, Vol. I. pp. 145 — 148.) 

If the following statement be in all circumstances 
correct, it apparently argues an extreme laxity on the 
part of the Jacobites, in attaching to themselves half- 



SYRIAN CHURCHES. 11 

made proselytes. Under the head of " Observa- 
tions made at Mardin," Niebuhr thus remarks — 

To" the Communion of the Jacobites belong also the shemsy. 
These seem still to have preserved a Religion, which has been 
patronized, not only by the Mahomedans, but also by the 
Christians. An old man assured me, that, in his youth, he 
knew many villages, in the mountainous parts of the country 
hereabouts, which professed this Religion. At present, it is 
believed, there are none of the Shemsy in the country ; but, at 
Mardin, there still exist about a hundred families, in two dif- 
ferent quarters. Formerly, but a few years ago, these ex- 
isted as a separate communion : but when the idea came into 
the mind of the Sultan Mustafa, to compel all the Christians 
and Jews in the Empire either to become Mahomedans or to 
quit the country ; and all the Grandees of the Kingdom, not 
even excepting the Mufti, refused their assent to this order, 
since Mahomet himself had, on condition of an Annual Capi- 
tation-Tax, granted protection to the Christians and Jews ; 
the Edict was re-modelled : and, with a view of giving some 
satisfaction to the Sovereign, it was ordered that thenceforth 
no persons shoidd be suffered in the country, except those 
who had Sacred Books ; that is to say, Mahomedans, Chris- 
tians, or Jews. This order gave very little concern to the 
Druses, Yasidies, and Ansari, and those of other Religions, 
who had their residence in mountainous countries, and were 
governed by their own Sheiks and Emirs. But the Shemsy 
were far too weak : besides which, they dwelt in cities, where 
the Mahomedan Magistrate could easily have an eye upon 
them. They therefore submitted themselves to the Jacobite 
Patriarch of Diarbekir*; and, ever since that time, they call 
themselves Christians, and dress as such. All their Chris- 
tianity, however, consists in their dress ; and in the circum- 
stance that they have their children baptized. There is sel- 
dom seen at Church any of their sect, excepting a couple, 
whom they send regularly, in order to avoid the accusation 
of never appearing at the Church. They also have a Jaco- 

* It is also mentioned by Assemann (Vol. II. p. 291) that the Ja- 
cobites freely communicate with Heretics. 



12 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS, 

bite Ecclesiastic, to assist at the interment of their dead ; but 
they do not allow him to enter the house, till the coffin is 
closed, when he follows the corpse to the burying-ground of 
the Shemsy. I heard nothing positive concerning their reli- 
gious tenets : the Christians at Mardin told me that they 
always build the principal door of their houses towards the 
East, and that they always turn their faces toward the sun 
when they pray. 

(Niebuhr, Voyage en Arable, &c. Vol. II. pp. 321, 322.) 



NOTE ON THE NESTORIANS. 

Having had occasion incidentally to mention the 
Nestorians, I cannot pass on without observing, 
that, of the different Bodies existing in the East, 
this is one peculiarly interesting as an object for 
religious research and exertion. They are denomi- 
nated, variously, Nestorian, Chaldean, or Assy- 
rian Christians ; and they are very numerous. The 
fullest account of them is to be found in the fourth 
Volume of Assemann's Bibliotheca Orientalis, which 
he has entitled, Dissertatio de Syris Nestorianis. 
Their Patriarchs are three ; those, namely, of 
Mosul, Ormia, and Amida. Of these, the last- 
mentioned Patriarch has connected himself with 
Rome : the others have, at different times, treated 
with Rome ; but still remain unconnected with her 
Communion. In the above-mentioned work of 
Assemann, who devotes 962 folio pages to this sub- 
ject, various reconciliations of this extensive branch 
of Christians with the Romish See are diligently 
recorded. One Chapter is devoted to the recapitu- 
lation of these events. It is entitled, Conversio 
Nestorianorum ad Jidem orthodoxam.^ (Chap, viii.) 



NESTORIAN CHRISTIANS. 13 

It might, however, more properly have been de- 
nominated, ' ' Occasional conversions of a part of the 
Nestorians to the Church of Rome :" for the learned 
Author enumerates not fewer than five such events, 
which took place in the following periods, viz. A.D. 
1247; 1288; 1552 ; 1616; and 1681. These in- 
termittent attachments to the Romish See might, 
alone, suffice to argue a very feeble degree of Papal 
Influence in those quarters. Bat this is yet more 
fully developed by Assemann himself, at the close 
of that Chapter ; where, in a tone of complaint, he 
notices that one of three Nestorian Patriarchs alone 
continues in his adherence to Rome, while the other 
two have fallen off. He institutes an inquiry into 
the causes of this ; and himself furnishes a complete 
answer, full of practical instruction. " Why," he 
asks, " do not the successors of Elias and Simeon 
observe in their jurisdictions this concord with 
Rome, in the same manner as it has been religiously 
observed by the successors of Joseph ?" To this 
question he replies in the following manner : — 

For four causes, as it seems to me. First, because, when 
they entered into communion with the Catholic Church, their 
Ecclesiastical Books were not purged of the errors with 
which they abound ; namely, their Euchologium and Horolo- 
gium, or Ritual, the Pontifical, and the Daily and Nightly 
Offices, and those of the Saints : for, in these, the Nestorian 
Heresy is everywhere contained, and the memory of Heretics 
cherished. Secondly, all their books, as well Syriac as 
Arabic, on Theology and the Canons, which are continually 
in the hands of their Patriarchs, Bishops, Presbyters, and 
others, were composed by Nestorian Authors, and con- 
sequently infected with the poison of heresy : these are the 
only books which they read : they have no other book com- 
posed in their language by the Orthodox, by which they 
might be taught the Catholic Verities. Thirdly, the inter- 



14 COPTIC AND ABYSSINIAN CHRISTIANS, 
course of Letters and Embassies between them and the 
Catholic Church is interrupted : had it been continued, and 
had the Nestorians on the one hand had their Orators at the 
Apostolic See, and were Rome on the other hand continually to 
visit them by Letter or by Legates, they would probably never 
have broken off the union once formed. Lastly, the Apo- 
stolic Missionaries destined for them by the Roman Pontiff 
are, for the most part, ignorant of their languages and of 
their rites, and scarcely penetrate those regions in which their 
Patriarchs reside : hence they transact their Mission with 
Plebeians, not with Patriarchs and Bishops ; and not satisfied 
with instructing them in the Faith, they very often move use- 
less questions about Rites, calculated to disturb, rather than 
conciliate, men, who are remarkable for a most tenacious 
attachment to their customs. 

(Assemanni Blbliotheca Orie?italis, Vol. IV. pp. 412, 413.) 

In these remarks there is much good sense : there 
is, however, one circumstance, naturally enough 
not alluded to by this learned Papal Envoy — the 

SCRIPTURES WERE NOT ABUNDANTLY CIRCULATED 
AMONG ALL CLASSES OF CHRISTIANS IN THE EAST. 

But this could form no part of the policy of the 
Court of Rome. It may be hoped that the recent 
publication of the entire syriac bible, by the 
British and Foreign Bible Society, will, under the 
Divine Blessing, be one of the means instrumental 
in giving Protestant Missionaries a favourable ac- 
ceptance from an immense body of Christians, as 
yet almost unknown, because almost unexplored by 
us, peopling the vast region between Aleppo and 
Travancore. 



COPTS AND ABYSSINIANS. 



The Copts and Abyssinians in Palestine are to 
be found principally in the Holy City ; devotion 



ROMAN- CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS, 15 

being the motive which has drawn them to this land. 
The Copts, from the nearness of Egypt, more 
easily return to their native country ; but the Abys- 
sinians, through extreme want, are obliged to remain. 
They are very few in number, and of no influence ; 
living in great poverty, and many of them being 
dependent upon the richer Armenians, to whom 
they are in some degree attached by the similarity 
of their religious faith. 



ROMAN CATHOLICS. 

Having enumerated the different Christian Bo- 
dies, which seem to have upheld, in the respective 
countries of the East, a more proper claim to 
the title of Oriental Christians ; we come to notice 
those Christians, who, either being Natives, have 
adopted, or being Foreigners, have introduced, 
the dominion of the Papacy. The first four sub- 
divisions of this number consist of persons by birth 
Oriental : the fifth is wholly a Foreign interest, 
being by birth, as well as in faith, Occidental 
Maronites — 

Greek Roman-Catholics- — 
Armenian Roman-Catholics — 
Syrian Roman-Catholics — 
Latins, or Frank Roman-Catholics. 

MARONITES. 

The Maronites are to be found principally in 
Mount Lebanon, and the adjacent cities. The re- 
sidence of their Patriarch is at Kanobin, not far 
from Tripoli ; and this may be considered as nearly 
the northern boundary of their residence. The 



1G RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

titular jurisdiction of this Patriarch, in common 
with that of some other Patriarchs in the East 
equally recognised by the See of Rome, is antioch: 
from which city, as having been visited by Saint 
Peter, a kind of Papal rank and virtue, (secondary, 
however, to that of Rome,) is by them supposed to 
emanate to all his successors in that See. South of 
Nazareth, the Author heard of no resident Maronites. 

This Church is in strict communion with the 
Romish Hierarchy ; a connection which was care- 
fully cherished by the Jesuits, as they found, in the 
ease and security of the mountains, and in the 
docility of the natives, the most advantageous means 
of forming their Oriental Seminaries and similar 
establishments*. In the province, called Kastravan, 
situate between Beirout and Tripoli, one of their 
Missions was established in the College at Antura, 
or Antoura. Several Monasteries have also been 
established in this neighbourhood by the Francis- 
cans from Europe. Pope Urban VIII. manifested 
his sense of the value of this station, by forming 
here, in connection with the Propaganda, an In- 
stitution for Oriental Learning and Romish Mis- 
sions : from the Rules of this Establishment some 
Extracts will be given in a future page, under the 
topics of " the Work of an Evangelist" and " Edu- 
cation." In this place the reader will be sufficiently 
informed of the Origin of the Maronites, according 
to the tradition most approved by themselves, from 
the following passage : — 

* The Maronites had, previously to A.D. 1182, been Monothe- 
lites. At that period, they abjured these opinions ; and were 
re-admitted to the Communion of the Roman Church. (See 
Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, Century vn.) 



ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS. 17 

The Maronite Nation derives its origin and its name from 
the celebrated Abbe Maron ; who must not be confounded 
with another of the same name, more ancient, a Monothelite 
Heresiarch. The holy Abbe Maron was born in Syria, in 
the Fourth Century. He there spent the life of a hermit. 
He had under his conduct several disciples, who embraced 
his manner of living. The reputation of his holiness was so 
great, that St. John Chrysostom wrote to him from the place 
of his exile, to entreat him to obtain from God, by his 
prayers, grace to endure his excessive pains with patience and 
courage. Cardinal Baronius eulogises some Letters which 
the holy Abbe wrote to the Pope Hormisdas, and the book 
which he presented to the Council, an authentic proof of the 
Catholicity of the holy Abbe. 

After he had piously finished his days, his disciples built a 
second Monastery near the river Orontes. The better to 
recommend it, they gave it the name of their Father ; and, 
after that time, it was called the Monastery of St. Maron. 
The Emperor Justinian rebuilt their Church, and gave it a 
handsomer appearance than the former one. 

In the number of the hermits of this Monastery, there was 
one named J ohn : who, having distinguished himself among 
his brethren by his virtues, was elected Abbe ; and, in honour 
of their first Father, he was surnamed the Abbe Maron. 
This second Abbe Maron powerfully combated the heretics 
and schismatics. He converted many of them ; and so suc- 
cessfully defended his nation against schism and heresy which 
surrounded it on all sides, that it alone in the Levant has 
remained constantly and universally devoted to the Chair of 
St. Peter. 

The Abbe John Maron, of whom we speak, was the first 
of his nation who was honoured with the title of Patriarch of 
the Maronites. He received the Patriarchate from the Holy 
See. His successors, after their election, never omit, up to 
the present day, to depute a person to the Pope, in order to 
receive his confirmation and the Pallhm. 

{Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, Fbl,\. pp. 109 — 111.) 



c 



18 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



GREEK ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 

The Patriarch of the Greek Roman-Catholics 
resides at the Monastery of Mar Michael, near 
Antoura*. They have several Monasteries in Mount 
Lebanon and the adjacent cities; among which a 
principal one is that of Deir Mhalles, or San 
Salvador, near Saide. From this place, many are 
sent forth to occupy the office of Parochial Priests, 
in various towns of Mount Lebanon. They take to 
themselves the name of Melchites, in the same 
manner as do the Orthodox Greeks of Egypt : but 
this title at first originated in a political, rather than 
in a religious, distinction. 

It may be difficult to trace at what exact period 
members of the Greek Church in Syria first became 
Roman Catholics. The activity of the Romish 
Missionaries in the promotion of such conversions 
must have been successful, probably, long before 
the period alluded to in a Letter from which we are 
about to give an extract. It is a Letter, without 
date, of considerable length, occupying 159 pages 
of the " Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses," in the 
Paris Edition of 1780 ; and is addressed, by the 
Superior of the Jesuit Missions in Syria and Egypt, 
to the Superior-General of the Order, giving a very 
full and minute account of the Syrian Missions. 
The Letter being without date, and entering into a 
very great variety of matter, has rather the appear- 
ance of being a compilation from the Archives of 

* See the following Journal, under date of October 21, 1823. 



ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS. 19 

the Jesuit Missionaries during a long period of time. 
The following extract records the reception of the 
Romish Creed, by some Dignitaries of the Greek 
Church in Syria, about the year 1717; an event 
which could not fail, for the time, to throw a great 
weight of influence into the Papal scale ; and it is 
accordingly announced in terms of high gratulation. 
It may very properly be introduced, as illustrating 
this section, concerning the Greek Roman-Catholics. 

The moment is at length come, in which the bandage, 
which hid their eyes from the Catholic Truth, has fallen. 
The Patriarch of Alexandria and the Patriarch of Aleppo 
have been the first to send to our Holy Father, Pope Cle- 
ment XI, their profession of Faith ; by which they protest, 
that they recognise and revere him, as the Vicar of J esus 
Christ, the Head of the Church, and the centre of unity to 
the Catholic Faith. 

The Patriarch of Damascus, named Cyril, the most power- 
ful and consequently the most in credit of all the Patriarchs 
in the Levant, was the last to give himself up. He had long 
lived in schism ; but, as he is a man of spirit and capacity, 
he could not refrain from praising and defending the Catholic 
Religion. He frequented the company of the Missionaries, 
and was well pleased that they should have the honour of 
often visiting him. Far from opposing the conversion of his 
flock, the schismatic Greeks, he favoured, as much as possible, 
their return to the Romish Church. He confessed, even, that 
he was ill pleased with the Greeks of Constantinople, for 
having formerly separated themselves. These good dis- 
courses, expressive of his sentiments, excited in the Catholics 
a feeling of affection toward him. They desired and asked 
of God, on his behalf, strength that he might follow the 
example, which the two Patriarchs of Alexandria and Aleppo 
had just given him. God has been pleased to hear their 
prayers ; but mark the final method, by which the Saviour of 
Men has been pleased to recover this Prelate to the bosom 
of the Romish Church, which had been so often the subject 

C 2 



20 KEL1GIOUS DENOMINATIONS, 

of his eulogium. Schism had held him in slavery — to com- 
pel him to quit it, it was necessary for Providence to permit 
his falling into captivity in the manner which I am about to 
relate. 

The Patriarch, of whom we speak, confided the Missal of 
his Church to one of his disciples, to take it to a binder. 
Some Turks, having by chance entered the shop, found this 
Missal. One of them seized it ; and carried it immediately 
to the Bashaw, designing to make his court to him. The 
Bashaw charmed with the opportunity of making an exaction 
from the Patriarch and extorting money from him, did not 
fail, the next morning, to send and summon him before him. 
The Bashaw then said to him, in a furious tone, that he had 
been informed of what he had done to seduce the Turks and 
make Franks of them — that he had given to one of them a 
book of his false religion, to pervert him — and that, for his 
crime, he deserved to be burnt to death : then, without wait- 
ing for his justification, he committed him to the Prison of 
Blood, so called because it is appropriated to criminals 
destined to be condemned to death. The Bashaw's order of 
commitment was executed ; but the Patriarch, after some days' 
confinement, having learnt that for three thousand crowns his 
liberty would be restored to him, caused this sum to be paid 
to the Bashaw ; and the door of the prison was opened to him, 
on Whit-Monday 1717. Scarcely was he come out of prison 
and returned to his house, when he received the Brief from 
Pope Clement XI ; in which his Holiness expressed to him 
that he had learnt, with a sensible joy, the protection which 
he granted to the Catholics, and the proofs which he gave of 
his esteem for the Romish Church ; that these dispositions 
led him to believe that he was not far from the Kingdom of 
God; that he conjured him, as his brother in Jesus Christ, 
to hear the voice of God which called him, and would use the 
voice of the Common Pastor to recover his flock to the fold. 
" Meditate," said he to him, " on those words of Jesus Christ — 
What shall it profit a man, if he should gain the ivhole ivorld, 
and lose his own soul P Beware lest the fear of losing some 
transient and temporal advantages occasion you the loss of an 
eternal blessing. Follow, rather, the example of the Patriarch 



ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS. 21 
of Alexandria and of the Patriarch of Aleppo, who have sent 
us their Profession of Faith conformable to the Holy Coun- 
cils. " We expect," said the Pope to him in conclusion, " we 
expect from you such a reply as we desire ; and we will then 
explain" to you what you will have to do, and the conduct 
which you should maintain." 

In terms nearly such as these, the Brief was conceived. 
The Patriarch received and read it with a profound respect. 
The Lord at the same time spoke to the heart of the Patri- 
arch ; who, touched by this invitation of the Father and Chief 
of Pastors, assembled the Missionaries, to declare to them, that 
he had taken the resolution of sending his Profession of Faith 
to the Holy Father in the terms which he desired. The 
Prelate has kept his word. He, last year, deputed three 
persons, who carried to Rome his Profession, together with 
presents and his pastoral staff, in order to submit it to the 
Vicar of Jesus Christ. 

We doubt not but his Holiness would feel a sensible joy at 
receiving into his Communion, and nearly at the same time, 
the three Patriarchs of the Greek Church. God grant that 
those who succeed them may be the inheritors of their ortho- 
dox faith, as well as of their dignity ! 

{Lettres Edifianles et Curieiises, VoL I. p. 140 — 144.) 



ARMENIAN ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 

The residence of the Armenian Roman- Catholic 
Patriarch is at Ybzumar, situate to the north of Bei- 
rout : some account of this Convent will appear in 
the following pages, the author having visited it 
during his stay in Mount Lebanon. But although 
the Romanists have used very active exertions to 
bring over the Armenians to their profession, and 
have long maintained a considerable influence with 
that people, both in Constantinople and in other 



22 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

parts of the Turkish Empire ; yet it is not to be sup- 
posed, that the proportion of these converts is, in 
any degree, comparable to those who have adhered 
to the ancient National Church of the Armenians. 
The following* remarks of Niebubr will convey a very 
just idea of this fact, in reference both to those 
Greeks and to those Armenians, who have accepted 
the dignity of the Patriarchal Title from Rome. 

There are, also, on the large and fertile Mountains of Le- 
banon, many Christians [that is, Romish Christians], who are 
denominated Greeks, because formerly they held to the Greek 
Church : but their Ecclesiastics are often less acquainted with 
the Greek, than the Maronites are with the Syriac Language, 
which occasions them to perform their worship principally in 
the Arabic Language. They have also their own Patriarchs: 
but, to all appearance, this has only been the case since the 
time of their union with the Romish Church ; and I imagine 
that the other united Greeks, who do not live in the territory 
of the Druses, pay no respect to this Patriarch ; but that the 
Pope simply gives this title to some Ecclesiastic of the country 
here, in order that he may say he has a Greek Patriarch 
in the Levant. In the same manner, there is, on Mount Le- 
banon, an Armenian Patriarch, who is nominated by the 
Pope, and who, probably, has not much to say for himself. 
In general, all these self-called European Patriarchs live very 
tranquilly under the protection of the Druses : while the Chal- 
dean Patriarch of the Pope at Diarbekir, and other Apostate 
Ecclesiastics of the East, often suffer great mortifications 
from the members of their Ancient Religion, and from the 
Bashaws : for there are still to be found, in all the Syrian Vil- 
lages, many Greeks, Armenians, and Jacobites; who adhere 
to the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Echmiazin, and Diar- 
bekir, as Heads of their Churches respectively ; and who do 
not regard it with an eye of indifference, that the Pope should 
give the title of Patriarch to Apostates, or that the Eu- 
ropean Monks and their Disciples should seduce members 
from the Ancient Communions, and thereby foment discords, 
and utterly ruin many good families. The dissensions of the 



ROM A N- CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS. 23 
Christians are always a clear profit to the Turkish Govern- 
ment. (Niebuhr, Vol II. pp. 346, 347.) 



SYRIAN ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 

Of this Body, which is not numerous in Syria, the 
Patriarch is generally understood to be Mar Grego- 
rius ; the Ecclesiastic who visited England in the 
year 1819, as Archbishop of Jerusalem. Some fur- 
ther account of this Body will appear in the follow- 
ing Journal, under the date of October 20, 1823. 



LATINS, OR FRANK ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 

To this number must be referred the Consular Re- 
presentatives, French, Spanish, Austrian, &c. of the 
respective Roman- Catholic Countries of Europe. 
These are, generally, either natives of their respec- 
tive countries ; or else, if born in the Levant, they 
are of immediate European extraction. They are 
usually — perhaps it might be said, invariably — pro- 
fessors of the Roman-Catholic Faith. In this re- 
spect the Church of Rome has never lost sight of its 
exclusive policy. In contrast to this it may be ob- 
served, that Protestant England is often represented 
in the Levant, in subordinate Consular situations, 
by Roman- Catholic or Greek Agents. This is, how- 
ever, less the case at present, than it has been at 
other times. There are also many Merchants in 
Syria from Roman-Catholic Countries. 

The various Rom an- Catholic Families in Syria, 
as well as in other parts of the Levant, have main- 



24 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

tained their influence by inter-marriages, in conse- 
quence of the contiguity of Roman-Catholic Coun- 
tries to the Mediterranean, much more easily than 
could possibly be the case with the remoter Pro- 
testants of England, Holland, and Germany. 

The number of Latin or Frank Rom an- Catholic 
Missionaries, whom devotion and the Papal System 
induce to visit Syria and the Holy Land, and who 
take up their residence either in Monasteries or in 
the principal cities, is never inconsiderable. It is 
indeed, at present, far inferior to what it was for- 
merly : but, for the whole of this tract, their num- 
ber, even at this day, cannot be computed to be less 
than seventy. The influence of the European Friars 
constantly serves to maintain in the Levant, in which 
they lead a migratory life, a kind of European or 
Frank attachment among many Levantine Families 
of Western origin or connections. 



PROTESTANTS. 

The Protestants in Syria are but few in number ; 
consisting, principally, either of Consular Repre- 
sentatives of Protestant Nations, or of Merchants 
from those countries. In former times, there was 
an English Protestant Chaplain fixed at Aleppo : 
the office has been adorned by the names of Bishop 
Frampton, of Maundrell, and of Pococke. Recently, 
Protestant Missionaries have visited the Levant, and 
some of them have begun to take up their residence 
in this interesting region. 

Before we quit this brief topic, it may be useful to 
observe the footing on which Protestants are repre- 



PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS. 25 

sented to have stood about a hundred years ago, in 
their relation to the Native Christians. For this 
purpose, we shall select from the work already so 
often quoted the following passages, written in a 
lively style ; and tending pointedly to illustrate the 
extremely disadvantageous ground which a Protes- 
tant must occupy in the view of Oriental Christians, 
whenever he allows, or is represented by others as 
allowing, questions of Christian Doctrine or Wor- 
ship to be brought before the tribunal of mere Anti- 
quity, Usage, or Tradition. One of the Jesuit Mis- 
sionaries, writing from Aleppo, says — 

You will ask me, how the English and the Dutch conduct 
themselves. Here, as in England and Holland, they observe 
neither fast nor abstinence: but it occasions scandal. The 
people of the country say that they are not Christians ; and 
the Turks themselves regard them as people without religion. 
They are sometimes affected with these reproaches ; and, not 
being able to bear them, many of them during Lent eat 
meat only in secret. Those, who act like men of good faith, 
confess that they are extremely surprised to see that the reli- 
gion of all the Christians of the East resembles that which 
they profess in scarcely any thing. 

This marked difference gives us a great advantage over 
them. "It is," we say to them, "it is to the happy times of 
Christianity when nascent, that you would have us ascend in 
order to justify the traditions. It is to the first four centuries, 
that you appeal on the subject. Ask, then, all these people 
who surround you : they will answer, that in all their prac- 
tices, (which are the same with ours,) they only follow the 
Apostolical Traditions — traditions which they received from 
the famous Antioch, which they regard as their Mother." 
This objection embarrasses our Protestants. They dare not 
advance that Confession, Fasting, Lent, Abstinence, the real 
presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Purgatory, the Adoration 
of the Cross, the Invocation of the Saints, &c. are Papistical 
inventions, manufactured by Satan: their eyes, their Very 



20 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS, 

eyes make them see the contrary. It is not here a question of 
Papists, or of Babylon, or of the Antichrist — great words these, 
which, pronounced with the hardy tone inspired by heresy, 
may have an imposing effect in Europe, but which signify 
nothing here : they must attack a thousand Christian Nations : 
they must renounce antiquity : they must condemn Antioch, 
and abandon the Apostles. This step it is difficult to take : 
and, therefore, these Gentlemen avoid, as much as possible, 
entering with us upon a dispute where they would have the 
worst ; and, more wise than in France, they observe, on all 
contested points, and on all the rites of religion, a profound 
and respectful silence, well persuaded that they would not 
have on their side the suffrage of the Greek Church. 

This conformity of sentiments between the Greek and Latin 
Churches sometimes makes upon right hearts a salutary im- 
pression. I was particularly acquainted, some years since, 
with a Minister of the Dutch Nation : he was a man of much 
talent : I often conversed with him, as he spoke Latin easily : 
he was about to set sail; but, before his departure, said to me 
in confidence, that he was going to Italy, there to weigh well 
an important affair, concerning which, what he had seen with 
his eyes had led him to make serious reflections which had 
changed him. 

Persons of the pretended Reformed Religion would not dare 
here to dogmatize : at least they would not do it with impu- 
nity. Some time since, an English Minister, zealous for his 
sect, went to great expenses in printing a Catechism accord- 
ing to his fashion. He aimed at infusing into the spirit and 
heart of all the Christians the poison with which he was filled. 
But they trampled it under foot : they tore it, and burnt it, 
without the Missionaries being obliged to interfere in the 
least degree *. 

* The learned Orientalist Pococke, who, from the year 1630 to 
1636, was Chaplain to the English at Aleppo, subsequently pub- 
lished in England, (besides many other valuable pieces,) the Work 
" de Veritate Fidei Christians " of Grotius, with whom he was 
personally acquainted; and, likewise, a Selection from the Liturgy 
of the Church of England — both in Arabic. The Treatise of 
Grotius has been reprinted by the Church Missionary Society, and 

copies 



PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS. 27 

The Christians of all the Nations of the East do not know 
what it is to doubt of the reality of the body of Jesus Christ 
in the Eucharist ; and they have so great an attachment to 
their Fasts and their Lent, that they would die, rather than 
fail in them. They have also received from Antioch, their 
neighbour and their Mistress in the Faith, the custom of pray- 
ing for the dead. The Invocation of the Saints, and in parti- 
cular of Saint George, is, to them, so dear and so precious, 
that they would rather suffer themselves to be hacked to 
pieces, than renounce it. 

It is impossible to add any thing to the profound venera- 
tion, which even the Turks have for Mary. They call her 
the Mother of the Great Prophet, Jesus f; and, in this qua- 
lity, they reverence her to such a degree, as to impale those 
Jews who dare blaspheme against her. What a strange con- 
trast ! Men, born in the bosom of Christendom, refuse to 
Mary honours, which are rendered to her by the most impla- 
cable enemies of the Christian Name ! 

Further, the respect of Mahomedans is not limited to the 
Mother of our God : the Sepulchre of the Messiah is one of 
the objects of their pilgrimages of devotion. They regard 
those who have visited the Sepulchres of the two Prophets as 
men of extraordinary piety : and to this double pilgrimage, 
are attached certain marks of distinction. " Such an one 
is a Saint," they would say: "he has been at Jerusalem and 
Mecca." 

One of our merchants, who has resided a long time at the 



copies have been circulated in the Levant. Of the Liturgy there is 
a Copy in the Library of the Society : it was printed A.D. 1674. 
It contains the Forms of Confession and Absolution, with several 
other prayers, and the Litany. The Author is ignorant what steps 
were taken for the circulation of this book, or what accounts may exist 
of its reception in the countries where Arabic is spoken. It seems, 
however, by no means improbable that the above-cited passage has 
reference to this pious and laudable effort of Pococke, to make the 
Christians of the East acquainted with the Church of England. 

f But they would not call her " QzoroKog, Deipara, Mother-of- 
God :" here, therefore, this impassioned encomiast of the Turks has 
stretched the bow too far. 



28 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

Holy City, and has seen, various times, these Turkish Pil- 
grims, related to me that they go upon their knees, that they 
crawl upon the ground from the gate to the Holy Sepulchre ; 
but, before entering there, they take off the bandage of their 
turban : this is with them a mark of ignominy, when done upon 
compulsion ; and a mark of respect, when done voluntarily — 
that then they prostrate themselves ; that they make profound 
obeisance, and strike their head upon the pavement. " This 
spectacle," he added, " has always edified me, and has some- 
times touched me even to tears." The Grand Signior him- 
self, among all the pompous and magnificent titles which he 
assumes in the orders which emanate from the throne, prides 
himself in adopting that of Protector and Preserver of the 
Holy City of Jerusalem. It is a consolation, not a little 
moving, for poor enslaved Christians to see their proud Ma- 
sters do so much honour to the God whom they adore. 

{Lettres Edifiantes el Curieuses, Vol. II. pp. 167 — 172.) 
It would be an easy task, were it requisite, to re- 
fute the various misrepresentations contained in the 
preceding extract. The supposed merit of the rigid 
abstinences, so much extolled, might well be con- 
trasted with the moderate views of the Apostle 

Onebelieveth that he may eat all things; another, 
who is weak, eateth herbs. He, that eateth, eateth 
to the Lord ; for he giveth God thanks : he, that 
eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God 
thanks. (Rom. xiv. 2, 6.) The preference which 
this Jesuit gives to the Turk above the Protestant, 
might rind its parallel, though in a higher degree, in 
those words, Not this man, but Barabbas: for he has 
more than half offered the right-hand of fellowship 
to the Mahomedans, who would rob Jesus Christ of 
his Divinity; while he, at the same time, calum- 
niates those in England and in Holland, who honour, 
not less than the Romanists, Christ as the Son of 
God, and reject only their excessive worship, prac- 



PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS. 29 

tically amounting to adoration, of the Blessed Vir- 
gin. Scarcely, even, will a correct disciple of 
Rome be brought to admire the juxta-position, 
which he has so smartly effected, of Jerusalem and 
Mecca! But it may suffice briefly to remark, on 
one main point, that, at the bottom of all these delu- 
sive representations, there is a mystery of iniquity, 
which still works in the Levant. The enemies to 
the entrance of the pure light of the Gospel will 
adopt the same tactics as formerly : any friend, 
rather than the friend of the Bible 3 will be the object 
of their choice ; the Turkish Civil Power is even now 
courted, with a view to obstructing the labours of 
that glorious Society, which has embodied in its 
fundamental law the best part of the spirit of Pro- 
testantism. Upon this topic, however, as belonging 
to the affairs of the present day, it will be proper to 
treat more largely in another part of this Volume. 



30 



RELIGIOUS 



DENOMINATIONS. 



SONNITES. 

The Sonnites are that division of the Mahomed an 
World, which asserts the legitimacy of the first 
three Caliphs — Abu-Beker, Omar, and Othman. It 
is not designed to enter here into the various opi- 
nions of this Body. In addition to the Koran, they 
admit a multitude of traditions and interpretations; 
while the rival Sect, the Shiites, though they admit 
some traditions, yet hold them more loosely, and 
are almost considered by the Sonnites as unbelievers. 
The Sonnites regard the Grand Signior of Constan- 
tinople as their Civil Head and Protector; and the 
Turks and Arabs of Syria are, generally, of this 
Sect. Persia is the patron of the opposite party : 
yet these, also, as will appear under the next head, 
are found in Syria. 



METAWALIES. 

This is the title by which many Mahomedans in 
Syria are distinguished, as being the followers of 
Ali, the fourth Caliph, the cousin and son-in-law of 
Mahomet; maintaining his right to be the imme- 
diate successor of his father-in-law. In this they 
resemble the Persians, and are in opposition to the 
Turks. The following extract will give the reader 



MAHOMEDANS. 81 

a general view of the extent to which their influence 
reaches in these parts. 

The Metawali make, either entirely or in part, profession 
of that Mahomedan Sect which is dominant in Persia; and, 
consequently, they are Shiites. Like the Persians, therefore, 
they neither eat nor drink with people of another religion; 
nor would they even use a plate from which a stranger has 
eaten, till they have well cleansed it. They even hold them- 
selves to be defiled, when a stranger simply touches their 
clothes. As they are under the domination of the Turks 
they dare not treat the Sonnites with contempt. They are 
sometimes under the necessity of passing themselves off as 
Sonnites. 

In general, neither the Sonnites nor the Christians like to 
dwell among them; and the Maronites, who serve as Secre- 
taries to the Sheiks of the Metawali, seldom remain with 
them for many years. They have, nevertheless, for some 
centuries been in possession of several districts. A family 
named Harfoosh, the head of whom takes the title of Emir, 
lives at Balbec, and pays the rent of this district direct to Con- 
stantinople. At Sour [i.e. Tyre], and in the adjacent coun- 
try called Belad B'sherri, there are seven or eight Sheiks of 
the family Nasif, which govern there, and pay their rent to 
the Pacha of Saide*. There are also Sheiks of the Metawali 
of the family El Kuanza, which govern at Kirrinie and 
Hurmel, a town on the river Orontes. They pay their tribute 
to the Bey of Horns. (Niefoihr, Vol. II. p. 347.) 

* So styled in the Firmans of the^ Grand Signior ; but more com- 
monly called, from his modern place of residence, Pacha of Acre. 



» 



32 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



Tins people appears to be one of the most con- 
siderable in Syria, on account both of their num- 
bers, and their political situation in Mount Lebanon. 
Although less numerous than the Christians, yet, 
together with them, they constitute nearly the whole 
of the population of the Mountain. Neither the 
Christians nor the Druses, however, have the go- 
vernment in their hands. The Emir Bechir, who 
governs Mount Lebanon, is not a Druse. The 
government was formerly held by Mahomedans, 
whose policy it was to balance the Christian and 
Druse interests. The present Emir is said to be a 
Christian ; but, in conformity with this line of po- 
licy, and to keep up appearances with his superior, 
the Pacha of Acre, he complies with many Ma- 
homedan usages. 

The extent of territory in which the Druses are 
to be found is thus described by one of the Jesuit 
Missionaries : — 

We have also in our mountains another nation, of which 
it is not easy to discover either the origin or the religion. 
They are called Druses. This nation inhabits a part of 
Mount Lebanon, the mountains above Saide and Balbec, and 
the country of Jebaile and Tripoli. 

These Druses extend even into Egypt. 

(Letlres Ed. et Curienses, Vol. I. p. 366.) 

The division of this Body into Religious and 
Secular orders is described in the following terms 
by Niebuhr ; a traveller of the greatest merit, and 



DRUSES. 33 

who has collected upon the state of various Bodies 
in the East more copious and minute information 
than is to be found perhaps in any other single 
Author. Subsequent travellers appear to have bor- 
rowed largely from him. It is not with any design 
to detract from his merit, (which would be im- 
possible,) that the extracts made from his Work 
are less copious than those made from subsequent 
travellers : but the inquisitive Reader may better be 
recommended to consult the original materials. 
Niebuhr observes — 

The Druses are divided into Akals 5 that is to say Eccle- 
siastics ; and Djahels, or Seculars, The Ecclesiastics are 
dependent upon three Akals, who are Sheiks among them : 
of whom one dwells in the district Arkub, the second in the 
district Tschuf el Heite, and the third in the district Hasbeia. 
The Akals are distinguished from the Seculars by their white 
dress. They have generally good houses on the hills ; and, 
judging by those few which I saw on the road from Saide to 
Damascus, it seems to me that they have not chosen the 
worst situations. On Thursday evening, which among the 
Orientals is called the night of Friday, they assemble in the 
house of one or other of their fraternity, to perform their 
worship, and pray for the whole nation : the wives of Eccle- 
siastics may be present ; but they do not admit Seculars, not 
even a Sheik or an Emii\ They despise all employments of 
honour in the world : but perhaps, in this, they make a virtue 
of necessity ; for, on the return of Hakem, they hope to be 
Kings, Viziers, and Pachas. They do not marry the daugh- 
ters of Seculars ; and they even carry their aversion to the 
property of the great so far ? as not to eat with the Sheiks 
and Emirs of their own nation. Akals eat only with Akals ; 
and with the peasants and other poor people, who, they are 
certain, earn their bread by labour, 

(Foyages en Arable, &c. Vol, II. p. 349.) 

The following passages, extracted from a more 
recent traveller, the enterprising Burckhardt, will 

D 



34 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

develope the political state, and describe some of 
the more curious customs, of the Druses. The ac- 
count is rendered the more interesting, by his hav- 
ing discovered that these people are not confined 
to Mount Lebanon, but have spread themselves to 
a district on the East of Damascus, the Haouran. 

It is now about one hundred and twenty years, since the 
government of the Mountain has been always entrusted, 
by the Pachas of Acre and Tripoli, to an individual of the 
family of Shehab (u-jL^) to which the Emir Bechir belongs. 
This family derives its origin from Mecca; where its name is 
known, in the history of Mohammed and the first Caliphs : 
they are Mussulmans, and some of them pretend even to be 
Sherifs. About the time of the Crusades, for I have been 
unable to ascertain the exact period, the Shehabs left the 
Hedjaz, and settled in a village of the Haouran, to which they 
gave their family name : it is still known by the appellation of 
Shohba ; and is remarkable for its antiquities, of which I have 
given some account, in my J ournal of a Tour in the Haouran. 
The family being noble, or of Emir origin, were considered 
proper persons to be Governors of the Mountain ; for it was 
and still is thought necessary, that the government should not 
be in the hands of a Druse. The Druses being always 
divided into parties, a governor chosen from among them 
would have involved the country in the quarrels of his own 
party, and he would have been always endeavouring to ex- 
terminate his adversaries ; whereas a Turk, by carefully 
managing both parties, maintains a balance between them, 
though he is never able to overpower them completely: he 
can oppose the Christian inhabitants to the Druses, who are 
in much smaller numbers than the former ; and thus he is 
enabled to keep the country in a state of tranquillity, and in 
subjection to the Pachas. This policy has long been suc- 
cessful, notwithstanding the turbulent spirit of the moun- 
taineers, the continual party feuds, and the ambitious projects 
of many Chiefs, as well of the Druses as of the reigning 
house. The Pachas were careful, also, not to permit any one 
to become too powerful: the princes of the reigning family 



DRUSES. 35 

were continually changed; and party-spirit was revived in 
the Mountain, whenever the interests of the Porte required it. 

(Burckhardfs Travels in Syria, pp. 194, 195.) 

This Writer having observed, that, at present, 
the most rich, shrewd, and powerful individual in 
the mountain, el Sheik Bechir, is a Druse, and is 
a dangerous rival to the ruling prince, the Emir 
Bechir, who can do nothing important without his 
consent, takes occasion from this circumstance 
thus to develope still more clearly the political 
state of Mount Lebanon : — 

It will be asked, perhaps, why the Sheik does not set aside 
the Emir Bechir, and take the ostensible power into his own 
hands. Many persons believe that he entertains some such 
design; while others, better informed perhaps, assert that 
the Sheik will never make the attempt, because he knows 
that the mountaineers would never submit to a Druse Chief. 
The Druses are certainly in a better condition at present, 
than they would be under the absolute sway of the Sheik, 
who would soon begin to oppress instead of protecting them, 
as he now does ; and the Christians, who are a warlike 
people, detest the name of Druse too much ever to yield 
quietly to a Chief of that Community. It is, probably, in 
the view of attaching the Christians more closely to him, and 
to oppose them in some measure to the Druses, that the 
Emir Bechir, with his whole family, has secretly embraced 
the Christian Religion. The Shehab, as I have already 
mentioned, were formerly members of the true Mussulman 
Faith ; and they never have had among them any followers 
of the doctrines of the Druses. They still affect publickly 
to observe the Mahomedan Rites : they profess to fast during 
the Ramadan; and the Pachas still treat them as Turks; but 
it is no longer matter of doubt, that the greater part of the 
Shehab, with the Emir Bechir at their head, have really 
embraced Christianity : that branch only of the family which 
governs at Rasheya and Hasbeya continue in the religion of 
their ancestors. 

D 2 



3(5 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

Although the Christians of the Mountain have thus become 
more attached to their prince, their condition, on the whole, 
is not bettered ; as the Emir scarcely dares do justice to a 
Christian against a Druse : still, however, the Christians re- 
joice in having a prince of their own Faith; and whose coun- 
sellors and household are, with very few exceptions, of the 
same religion. There are not more than forty or fifty persons 
about him, who are not Christians. How far the Shehab may 
be sincere in their professions, I am unable to decide : it is 
probable, that, if their interests should require it, they would 
again embrace the religion of their ancestors. 

(Travels in Syria, pp. 197, 198.) 

The following is the novel and interesting ac- 
count given by Burckhardt of the Druses residing 
in the Haouran: — 

In manners, these Druses very much resemble those of 
the mountains of Kesrouan. The families form clans almost 
independent of each other ; and among whom there are fre- 
quent quarrels. Insults are studiously avenged by the re- 
spective families ; and the law of blood-revenge is in full 
force among them, without being mitigated by the admission 
of any pecuniary commutation. They all go armed ; as do 
the Turks and Christians of the Haouran, in general. Few 
Druses have more than one wife ; but she may be divorced 
on very slight pretexts. 

With respect to their religion, the Druses of the Haouran, 
like those in Mount Libanus, have the class of men called 
Akoul (sing. Aakel), who are distinguished from the rest 
by a white turban, and the peculiarity of the folds in which 
they wear it. The Akoul are not permitted to smoke 
tobacco : they never swear ; and are very reserved in their 
manners and conversation. I was informed that these were 
their only obligations ; and it appears probable, for I ob- 
served Akoul Boys of eight or ten years of age, from whom 
nothing more difficult could well be expected, and to whom 
it is not likely that any important secret would be im- 
parted. I have seen Akouls of that age, whose fathers 
were not of the Order ; because, as they told me, they could 



DRUSES. 37 
not abstain from smoking and swearing. The Sheiks are, 
for the greater part, Akouls. The Druses pray in their 
chapels, but not at stated periods : these chapels are called 
(i^iti-) i.e. an insulated place ; and none but Druses are 
allowed to enter them. They affect to follow the Doctrine 
of Mohammed^ but few of them pray according to the 
Turkish Forms : they fast during Ramadan, in the presence of 
strangers; but eat at their own homes, and even of the flesh 
of the wild boar, which is frequently met with in these districts. 

It is a singular belief, both among the western Druses and 
those of the Haouran, that there are a great number of Druses 
in England : an opinion founded, perhaps, upon the fanati- 
cal opinions of the Christians of Syria, who deny the English 
to be followers of Christ, because they neither confess nor 
fast. When I first arrived at the Druse Village of Aaere, 
there was a large company in the Medhafe, and the Sheik 
had no opportunity of speaking to me in private : he therefore 
called for his inkstand, and wrote upon a piece of paper 
the following questions ,* which I answered as well as I could, 
and returned him the paper : " Where do the five Wadys 
flow to, in your country ? — Do you know the grain of the 
plant Leiledj (^Jl*J); and where is it sown?— What is the 
name of the Sultan of China? — Are the towns of Hadjar 
and Nedjran in the Yemen known to you ?— Is Hadjar in 
ruins? and who will rebuild it? — Is the Moehdy (the Saviour) 
yet come, or is he now upon the earth ?" 

I have not been able to obtain any information concerning 
the period at which the Druses first settled in these parts. 
Min Kadim (f&AS ^^o), a long time ago, was the general 
answer of all those whom I questioned on the subject. 
During my stay at Aaere, news arrived there, that a body of 
one hundred and twenty Druses had left the western moun- 
tains, and were coming to settle in Haouran. 

(Travels in Syria : pp. 303— 305.) 

The following delineation of the Customs and 
Character of the Druses is taken from that part of 
Burckhardt's account, which relates to those of 
them who inhabit Mount Lebanon :— 



^8 KELIGIOWS DENOMINATIONS. 

With respect to the true religion of the Druses, none but 
a learned Druse can satisfy the inquirer's curiosity. What 
I have already said of the Auzeyrys is equally applicable 
to the Druses — their religious opinions will remain for ever 
a secret, unless revealed by a Druse. Their customs, 
however, may be described ; and as far as they can tend to 
elucidate the mystery, the veil may be drawn aside by the 
researches of the traveller. It seems to be a maxim with 
them, to adopt the religious practices of the country in which 
they reside, and to profess the creed of the strongest : 
hence, they all profess Islamism in Syria; and even those 
who have been baptized, on account of their alliance with 
the Shehab family, still practise the exterior forms of the 
Mohammedan Faith. There is no truth in the assertion, 
that the Druses go one day to the Mosque and the next to 
the Church : they all profess Islamism ; and, whenever they 
mix with Mohammedans, they perform the rites prescribed 
by their religion. In private, however, they break the fast 
of Ramadan, curse Mohammed, indulge in wine, and eat 
food forbidden by the Koran. They bear an inveterate 
hatred to all religions except their own ; but more particularly 
to that of the Franks, chiefly in consequence of a tradition 
current among them, that the Europeans will one day over- 
throw their commonwealth. 

Nothing is more sacred with a Druse than his public 
reputation. He will overlook an insult, if known only to 
him who has offered it j and will put up with blows where 
his interest is concerned, provided nobody is a witness : but 
the slightest abuse given in public, he revenges with the 
greatest fury. This is the most remarkable feature of the 
national character : in public, a Druse may appear honoura- 
ble ; but he is easily tempted to a contrary behaviour, when 
he has reason to think that his conduct will remain undis- 
covered. The ties of blood and friendship have no power 
among them : the son no sooner attains the years of maturity, 
than he begins to plot against his father. 

The Akal are those who are supposed to know the doc- 
trines of the Druse Religion: they superintend divine worship 
in the Chapels or, as they are called, Khaloue ; and 



DRUSES. 39 

they instruct the children in a kind of Catechfem. They 
are obliged to abstain from swearing and all abusive language ; 
and dare not wear any article of gold or silk in their dress. 
Many of them make it a rule never to eat of any foodj nor 
to receive any money, which they suspect to have been im- 
properly acquired : for this reason, whenever they have to 
receive considerable sums of money, they take care that it shall 
be first exchanged for other coin. The Sheik el Nedjem, 
who generally accompanies the Sheik Bechir in his visits to the 
Emir, never tastes food in the palace of the latter,, nor even 
smokes a pipe there ; always asserting, that whatever the 
Emir possesses has been unlawfully obtained. There are 
different degrees of Akal, and women are also admitted 
into the order; a privilege which many avail themselves 
of, from parsimony, as they are thus exempted from wearing 
the expensive head-dress and rich silks fashionable among 
them. 

The best feature in the Druse character, is that peculiar 
law of hospitality, which forbids them ever to betray a guest. 
I made particular inquiries on this subject ; and I am satisfied 
that no consideration of interest or dread of power will induce 
a Druse to give up a person, who has once placed himself 
under his protection. Persons from all parts of Syria are 
in the constant practice of taking refuge in the Mountain, 
where they are in perfect security, from the moment they 
enter upon the Emir's territory : should the prince ever be 
tempted by large offers to consent to give up a refugee, the 
whole country would rise, to prevent such a stain upon their 
national reputation. The mighty Djezzar, who had invested 
his own creatures with the government of the Mountain, never 
could force them to give up a single individual of all those 
who fled thither from his tyranny. Whenever he became 
very urgent in his demands, the Emir informed the fugitive 
of his danger, and advised him to conceal himself for a time 
in some more distant part of his territory : an answer was then 
returned to Djezzar, that the object of his resentment 
had fled. The Asylum which is thus afforded by the Moun- 
tain, is one of the greatest advantages that the inhabitants 



40 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

of Syria enjoy over those in the other parts of the Turkish 

Dominions. (BurckhardCs Travels in Syria : pp. 200 — 204.) 

It will have appeared from the preceding extracts, 
that the religious opinions of the Druses have been 
the object of curious investigation to travellers and 
others. The Author has carefully consulted what 
has been said concerning this people by the Jesuit 
Missionaries ( Lett res Edifiantes et Curieuses,Vo\s. I. 
and II.) and by Niebuhr, Volney, and Burck- 
hardt; writers, who, at successive periods during 
the last century, have made actual research in 
Syria relative to this singular people. Burckhardt 
seems to give up the subject in despair. We must 
not, however, overlook what appears to be the most 
authentic information as yet received concern- 
ing their faith, and which is to be found in the 
Chrestomathie Arabe of the Baron De Sacy (Vol. 
II. pp. 334 — 403.) published at Paris in the year 
1806; where the reader will find a French trans- 
lation of several Arabic Manuscripts reputed to be 
the Sacred Books of the Druses. The learned 
Translator intimates in his Notes, that he has, for 
many years, been collecting ample materials for a 
Work on this subject. The following extracts from 
what he has already made public may prove not 
unacceptable to the English Reader : and they will 
abundantly suffice to give the Missionary Student a 
general idea of the character of the Druse Creed; 
a Creed professedly secret, and certainly — so far as 
the veil of mystery may be supposed to have been 
drawn aside by this Translation of their books- 
very unprofitable. 

The Druses designate themselves by the name of Unita- 
rians. They are called Dorouy or Duzzyyeh. They are 



DRUSES. 41 

the disciples of Hamza, son of Ali ; and honour with divine 
worship Hakem-biamar- Allah, Caliph of Egypt, of the family 
of Obaid-Allah Mahdi. 

i m 

s. 

Abridged Life of Hakem. 
Our lord Hakem, whose name be glorified, was the son of 
Ishmael of the race of Ali, son of Abu-Talib, and his mother 
was of the race of Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet. He 
was born at Cairo, in the year 375 of the Hegira. His fa- 
ther declared him his successor in the year 383. He ascended 
the throne in the year 386, and reigned 25 years. He disap- 
peared on the night of the 27th of the month Shoual, in the 
year 411. The time of his sojourn in this world, from his 
birth to his disappearing, was thirty-six years and seven 
months. He wrote a Venerable Charter, and suspended it in 
the Mosques. He then disappeared. We expect his return 
in a short time, if it please him. He will reign over all the 
earth, throughout all ages. Those whom he has invited to 
the profession of his unity and have not obeyed, that is, the 
men of all other sects and religions, will be subjected to him, 
put in irons, and laid under an annual tribute ; but as for the 
Unitarians, they will reign with him throughout all ages. 



Copy of the Charter which was found suspended in the 
Mosques, at the time of the disappearance of our lord 
the Imam Hakem. 

In the name of God the pitying and merciful. 

The future recompences are destined to those, who rouse 
themselves from the slumbers of the thoughtless, and retire 
from the folly of the senseless ; to him, whose faith is firm and 
sincere, and who hastens to return to the Most High God ; 
and to him, who is his Vicegerent and witness to mortals, his 
Vicar upon earth, to whom he has confided the care of his 
creatures, the Prince of the Believers. 

O Men, the threatenings, the exhortations, the promises, 
which till now have been made to you by your Sovereign 



12 ttELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

Chief, the Imam of your age, the successor of your prophets, 
the witness of your Creator, the Vicar of him who will render 
witness against you for the crimes which cause your perdition; 
in short, all the counsels and warnings which have been 
lavished upon you, are more than sufficient for those who 
have heard with submission and docility, who have entered 
into the right way, who have resisted their passions for the 
salvation of their souls, and who have preferred the future 
life to this present world. But, all this notwithstanding, you 
are still plunged in the torrent of ignorance, and wandering 
in the desert of error : you amuse yourselves unceasingly, till 
surprised by that day with which you have been threatened. 
Certainly you will know one day, yes, certainly you will know 
one day, ah, if ye were instructed in a sure knowledge. 

You have had a multitude of benefits heaped upon you, 
in such abundance, that none of those who have preceded 
you have ever received the like ; neither have any of the 
people that have been before you in past ages, neither the 
companions of the flight of Mahomet, nor those who received 
him hospitably in Medina, ever attained to a more exalted 
degree of prosperity. 

It is not on account of your merit or good works, O Men 
and Women, that the Vicegerent of God has bestowed upon 
you these benefits : but from his kindness, goodness, tender- 
ness, and pity for you ; and in order to prove you, that he 
might know who among you are given to good works. 

As to the exterior precious benefits which ye have received 
from him, they are talents heaped up of gold and silver, 
horses of the greatest price, all sorts of cattle, and a multitude 
of other gifts, as pensions, fiefs, lands, and an infinity of tem- 
poral goods. Besides, he has raised you all, generally and 
individually, to the most sublime honours and ranks, that 
ye might walk in the paths of intelligent beings. He has 
honoured you with the quality of Emirs, and decorated you 
with the most eminent titles. He has extended your power 
on earth to the east and to the west, in the plains and in the 
mountains, by sea and by land. You have been made Kings 
and Sultans. You have received tribute. By the aid of the 



DRUSES. 48 

Vicegerent of God, you have been put in full liberty. All 
hostile and factious parties have come to submit themselves 
to you. 

As to the interior gifts which you have received from him, 
of this number is the intercourse which you have externally 
seemed to have with him ; intercourse, which constitutes your 
glory in this world, and the hope of your happiness in 
eternity *. Another of his internal benefits, is the having 
revived the laws of Islamism and of the Faith, which are in 
the eyes of God the true religion f . 

It is thus that you have been raised since his time, in ho- 
nour and purity, above all other Sects : he has distinguished 
you from the adorers of idols % : he has separated them from 
you, in frustrating their hopes and desires : he has overturned 
their Churches and their Schools for religion, although they 
had subsisted for a long course of ages : the partisans of 
these Sects, tolerated among Mussulmans, have been subjected 
to you, by good-will or force : they have entered in crowds 
into the religion of God. 

But you have hated knowledge and wisdom : you have de- 
spised his benefits, and cast them behind your back: you 
have preferred the good of this world, as did before you the 
Children of Israel in the time of Moses (upon whom be peace!) 
The Vicegerent of God was unwilling to compel you 
against your choice : he has shut the door of his preaching § : 
he has caused you to be taught wisdom : out of his palace he 
has opened a school of science, where were to be liad all 
instruction concerning religion, the jurisprudence of the 



* " This intercourse between Hakem and his subjects, and all the 
the actions of his humanity, are, according to the doctrine of 
Hamza, merely appearances designed to veil his Divinity and 
incomprehensible nature." (Note by De Sacy : p. 373.) 

•j* " That is to say, according to the doctrine of the Druses, all the 
precepts of the literal and the allegorical doctrine, that is of 
Islamism and the Faith, have their true explication only in the 
Unitarian Religion." (Note by De Sacy.) 

% " These adorers of idols are the Jews and the Christians." 
(Note by De Sacy.) 

§ " That is, he has destroyed the Monastery named Deir-alkasr." 
(Note by De Sacy: page 374 referring to page 79.) 



44 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

Alcoran upon things permitted or forbidden, decisions and 
judgments conformably to the books of the Ancients and the 
books of Abraham and Moses. (May the favours of God re- 
pose on all of them !) He has given you paper and pensions, 
ink and pens, in order that you might attain to that which 
might render you happy, opening your eyes and delivering 
you from your foolishness. 

The Blessed and Most High God hath said—" If my ser- 
vants ask you concerning me, tell them that I am near; and 
that I hear the prayers of those who call upon me." Up, 
then, O Men ! If you keep yourselves in these desert and 
uncultivated places*, your eyes will trace the commencement 
of that route, which was taken by the Emir of the Believers 
at the moment when he was concealed. Assemble yourselves, 
therefore, with your children: purify your hearts: render 
your intentions pure before God, the Lord of the Universe : 
be sincerely converted to him ; avail yourselves of the most 
powerful mediation with him, that he may pardon you, and 
grant you the return of his Vicegerent. But take good heed 
that none of you inquire into the course taken by the Emir of 
the Faithful {on whom be the peace of God!) or endeavour to 
learn what has become of him. Cease not to reiterate your 
prayers, all of you together, at the entering of the way, say- 
ing, " Behold our abiding place !" and, when the moment of 
mercy is come for you, the Vicegerent of God, satisfied with 
your conduct, will, of his own choice and free will, appear at 
your head — he will shew himself in the midst of you. 



* This passage has an allusion to a curious piece of history re- 
specting the disappearance of Hakem ; who, according to the 
account of some, died a violent death — some pretending that his 
sister caused him to be murdered. ( Chrestomathie, II. 87.) De 
Sacyj in his Note on this passage, observes, that these desert places 
refer to a part of the city of Cairo situated to the south-east, and the 
Mount Mokattam. " It was hither," he remarks, " that Hakem 
used to go out for his evening .walks ; and, the night when he perished, 
he had gone out this way, and reached the Mount Mokattam, where 
he was killed. The next morning, the principal officers of the palace, 
with a numerous train, went out by the same route to seek for the 
Caliph, whose body was found in a well near Holwan." (Note by 
De Sacy, Chrestomathie Arabe: Vol. II. p. 376.) 



DRUSES. 45 

The servant* of the empire of the Prince of the Believers 
(on whom be the peace of God!) wrote this in the year 411. 

May God be propitious to Mahomet, the Prince of Apostles, 
the seal of Prophets ! 

Care shall be taken for the security of those religious per- 
sons, who shall observe what is written in this document ; and 
none shall be hindered from copying and reading it. May 
God render it profitable and useful to those, to whom he shall 
grant grace to observe its contents ! 

Anathema, Anathema to whomsoever shall not copy it, and 
shall not read it to the penitents in a low Chapel f. 

Anathema, Anathema to whomsoever shall have the oppor- 
tunity of copying it 3 and shall neglect to do so. Praise be to 
God alone. 



The Oath, by which the initiated Druses are ad- 
mitted, is given by the Baron de Sacy, according to 
the following Translation: — 

Form of Engagement to the Vicegerent of this Age. 

I put my confidence in our lord Hakem, the sole, the one, 
the eternal, exempt from all association, and all number. 

Such an one, son of such an one, being of sound mind and 
body, in full liberty and acting by an obedience perfectly 
voluntary, without violence or constraint, does, by the present 
act of submission, to which he binds his soul and body, confess 
and declare that he renounces all Sects, Professions, Religions, 
and Creeds, and acknowledges no other obedience than that to 
our lord Hakem (whose name be glorified!) ; obedience which 
consists in serving and adoring him — that he will serve none 
other with him, past, present, or to come — that he gives over 
his soul, his body, his goods, his children, and all that he 

f u It seems probable to me, that this piece was to be read only 
by those who were initiated into the doctrine of Hamza ; and it is 
doubtless with this view, that the promise is given of watching over 
the security of those who conform to the orders made to them. It 
is in this view, also, that the reading of this document is commanded to 
be in some retired and subterraneous place, which should serve as a 
Chapel for the assembling of the initiated." (Note by DeSacy : p. 377.) 



40 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

possesses, to our lord Hakem (whose name be glorified!) — 
that he submits to his disposal of him, without opposing him 
in any thing, or disapproving any thing in his works, whether 
he bestow pleasure or pain. If he renounces the religion of 
our lord Ilakem (whose name be glorified!) to which he has 
submitted by this writing, and to which he has bound his soul 
by this authentic declaration, or if he reveals it to others, or 
if he disobeys any of its commandments, he shall no longer 
have any part with the Creator who is adored : he shall be 
deprived of the advantages which he might have received from 
the Ministers [of the Religion of the Unity], and he shall 
merit the chastisements of God Most High (whose name be 
glorified !) Whosoever confesses, that he has not in heaven 
any God worthy of adoration, nor on earth any Imam existing 
other than our lord Hakem (whose name be glorified !) is in 
the number of the happy Unitarians. 

Written in such a month, of such a year of the era* of the 
servant of our Lord (whose name be glorified!) and of his 
slave Hamza, son of Ali, son of Ahmet, the director of those 
who are obedient, and the avenger of those who adore many 
Gods, and of Apostates by the sword of our lord (whose name 
be glorified!) and by the force of his sole power. 

The Christian Reader will discern in the midst of 
this unintelligible jargon various traces of Judaism, 
Christianity, and Mahomedanism. The general 
scope of the system, supposing these documents to 
exhibit it truly, would seem to be pure Deism. The 
doctrine, however, of Incarnate Deity, and the ex- 
pectation of a Second Advent of the Head of the 
Druse Religion, are points of resemblance to the 
New Testament, peculiarly striking. That the 
Druses are not to inquire into the time of this Second 
Advent is analogous to the feeling which the Jews 
at present have concerning their Messiah ; and the 



* " The era of the Druses, or of Hamza, begins with the year 408 
of the Hogira; that is, about A.D. 1016." (Note by De Sacy : p 379.) 



DRUSES. 47 

belief that all nations are to be subject to Hakem 
may be a corruption, eitfier of the secular expecta- 
tions of the Jews, or of the spiritual hopes of Chris- 
tians. In respect to the practical or experimental 
part of this religion, while much is said of acknow- 
ledging undeserved favours, while human merit seems 
to be disclaimed, and an allusion is even made to 
the idea of mediation; it is nevertheless impossible 
not to see that the exhortations to piety all proceed 
on the idea that man has the power in himself to 
become pious. However far Mahomedans, Druses, 
Deists, or the propagators of any other false religion, 
may extract matter from the Old or the New Testa- 
ment, yet they all drop the doctrine of man's corrup- 
tion by the Fall — both the fact, and all its train of in- 
evitable consequences. These documents form an 
additional proof of the tendency of mankind to cor- 
rupt pure Revelation, and to fabricate a religion of 
their own; while the barrier of secrecy, with which 
they endeavour to surround it, is but a stratagem of 
the Arch-enemy to preclude the detection and over- 
throw of their errors. 

A curious additional circumstance shall here be 
quoted from the writings of the Jesuit Missiona- 
ries, which, if correct, seems to prove that the 
Druses are not exempt from the reproach of 
Idolatry. 

There are only two of their villages, which have the honour 
(speaking their language) of possessing the statue of their 
great Legislator. 

His statue, according to their law, must be of gold or of 
silver. They inclose it in a wooden case, and exhibit it only 
on the day of their grand ceremonies ; when they address 
their vows to it, to obtain the object of their desires. They 
imagine that they are speaking to God himself, so great is 



48 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

their veneration for this idol. The only two villages where 
it is preserved are called Bagelin and Fredis. 

{Lettres Edijiantes et Curieuses: Vol. I. pp. 371, 372.) 

Volney has intimated, that the Druses have, at 
different times, imposed upon the Missionaries in 
the Levant, by a profession of Christianity. It is 
almost superfluous to observe, that the statements 
of an avowed enemy of the Gospel are to be re- 
ceived with extreme reserve. The following extract 
from that traveller, so far as it may demonstrate 
the facility of temper of the Druses, is worthy of 
attention ; but cannot be regarded as a faithful ac- 
count of the proceedings of the Missionaries: — 

When they go among the Turks, they affect the external 
appearance of the Mussulman: they enter the Mosques, 
and perform the ahlutions and prayers. Or are they among 
the Maronites ? They follow them to Church, and take the 
holy water like them. Many of them, importuned hy the 
Missionaries, have received baptism: then, solicited by the 
Turks, they have allowed themselves to be circumcised ; and 
have finished by dying, neither Christians nor Mussulmans. 

{Volney' s Travels in Syria: Chap. 22. Section 3.) 

It will, however, be proper to hear what the 
Romish Missionaries themselves relate concerning 
the reception which their labours have had among 
the Druses. They speak without reserve of their 
total want of success; and even seem to regard the 
conversion of this people as a hopeless experiment. 
With the following extract, the account of the 
Druses shall conclude. 

We often perform a Mission to the Catholics who are in 
their country ; and we have as often the pain of seeing that 
this Nation is very far from the Kingdom of God. It is true 
that they love the Christians, and do not love the Turks. 
It is true likewise, that they prefer calling themselves Chris- 



DRUSES. 49 

tians rather than Turks, although they wear the green tur- 
ban. They even receive us kindly and joyfully into their 
houses. 

Notwithstanding these favourable dispositions, their in- 
violable attachment for their religion, which is a frightful 
compound of Christian and Mahomedan Ceremonies, and, 
still more, their obstinacy in refusing instruction, give just 
reason to fear that this Nation will persist in shutting its eyes 
to the light of the Gospel. 

{Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses ; Vol, I. pp. 372, 373.) 



so 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



The Ansari are a people residing in the mountain- 
ous parts near Antioch, and in other places of 
Northern Syria. The origin of this Sect, marvellous 
and semi-fabulous, is thus given by Assemann, 
translated from the Syriac of Bar-Hebraeus : — 

Whereas many desire to know the origin of the Nazaraei, 
receive the following account from us. In the year of the 
Greeks 1202,* there appeared an old man in the region 
Akula [this is Cupha, a city of Arabia, as Bar-Hebraeus else- 
where notices], in a village which the inhabitants call Nazaria. 
This old man having the appearance of a person given to 
severe fasts, great poverty, and strict devotion, many of the 
natives of that place followed him ; out of whom having 
chosen twelve, according to the number of the Apostles, he 
commanded them to preach a new doctrine to the people. 
The governor of the place, hearing of this, commanded to 
apprehend him ; and, having cast him into a dungeon in his 
own house, swore that on the following morning he would 
have him crucified. On the same night, the governor, going 
to bed half intoxicated with wine, placed the key of the 
dungeon under his pillow : a maid of the household, per- 
ceiving this, when he was fast asleep withdrew the key ; and, 
pitying this old man, given to fasting and prayer, opened the 
dungeon, set him at liberty, and then restored the key to its 
former place: the governor, going in the morning to the 
dungeon, and opening it with the same key, and finding no 
person, imagined the culprit to have been miraculously re- 
moved; and as the maid, through fear, kept silence as to 
what she had done, the report spread abroad that the old man 
had escaped from the prison while the doors were shut. 



* Corresponding to A.D. 891, 



ANS ART. - 51 

A short time after, having found two of his disciples in a 
distant country, he contrived to persuade them that he had 
been delivered by angels from the prison, and conveyed to a 
desert-place. He then wrote a book of his religion, and gave 
it to them, with an order to promulgate it, and invite men to 
receive his new doctrines. These doctrines were of the fol- 
lowing nature : — " I, such an one, commonly believed to be 
the son of Othman of the town Nazaria, saw Christ, who 
is Jesus, who also is the Word, and the Director, and Achmed 
the son of Mohammed the son of Hanaphia of the sons of 
Ali ; the same also is the Angel Gabriel: and he said to me, 
Thou art the Reader: thou art the Truth. Thou art the 
camel, that retainest anger against the Infidels. Thou art the 
heifer, bearing the yoke of the Believers. Thou art the 
Spirit. Thou art John the son of Zacharias. Preach there- 
fore to men, that they kneel four times in their prayers ; twice 
before sun-rise, twice after sun-set, toward Jerusalem, say- 
ing each time these three verses, God is sublime above all, 
God is high above all, God is the greatest of all. On the 
second and sixth festival, let no man do any work : let them 
fast two days every year : let them abstain from the Maho- 
medan ablution : let them not drink strong drink ; but of wine 
as much as they please. Let them not eat the flesh of wild 
beasts." Having delivered these ridiculous doctrines, he 
went to Palestine, where he infected the simple and rustic 
people with the same teaching : then departing, he hid him- 
self ; nor is his place known to this day. 

(Assemanni Bib. Orient. Vol II. pp. 319, 320.) 

Assemann then proceeds to give various reasons, 
why the persons formerly called Assassini are the 
same with these Nazarcei, or Ansari. He says 
that they were originally Mahomedans, and after- 
ward became Semi-Christians. He adds, also, that 
the Druses bitterly persecute them, as a people 
loose in morals and hostile to their sect. 

The account given in the Encyclopaedia Britan- 
nica, under the word Assassins, partly accords 
with the above; referring the origin of that Sect 

E 2. 



52 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

to a Sheik vulgarly called, in Europe, the Old Man 
of the Mountain. The following accounts from 
the Jesuit Missionaries, from Niebuhr, and from 
Burckhardt, may probably be considered as throw- 
ing a little additional light upon the obscure and 
melancholy picture before us. 

The Jesuit Missionaries observe — 

At the present day we are not acquainted here with any 
people bearing the name of Assassins; yet it is possible 
that the Kesbins, a Nation which inhabits the mountains 
two days distant from Tripoli, and the Nassariens, another 
Nation which is established in the plain toward the sea, may 
be the successors of the Assassins. These two Nations 
inhabit the same country, and, what is more, there is much 
resemblance between the religion which the Assassins pro- 
fess, and that professed in the present day by the Kesbins and 
the Nassariens. 

These two Nations, the Kesbins and the Nassariens;, 
ought to be regarded as making one and the same Nation. 

They have different names, from the different countries 
which they inhabit. Those among them who inhabit the 
mountains are called Kesbins, because their country is called 
Kesbie : the others, who occupy the plains, are called Nassa- 
riens, that is to say, bad Christians* ; a character which 
belongs to both of them, for they have made for themselves 
a religion which is a monstrous compound of Mahomedanism 
and Christianity, and which gives them an extravagant idea 
of our holy mysteries. 

The Doctors of their sect are called Sheiks. These 
Doctors amuse them with their foolish imaginations: for 
example — they teach them that God has been incarnate 
several times — that he has been incarnate, not only in Jesus 
Christ, but also in Abraham, Moses, and other persons 
celebrated in the Old Testament. They even attribute the 



* This etymology, which seems so plausible, receives no counte- 
nance from Assemann, who, if it had been correct, was too good an 
Oriental Scholar not to have discovered it. 



ANS ART. 53 
same honour to Mahomet ; an absurdity into which even the 
Turks have never fallen. 

This is not all. They imagine that they honour J esus Christ, 
by maintaining that he did not die on the Cross, as the Chris- 
tians profess, but they add that he substituted another man 
who died in his place. They likewise say that Mahomet 
ordained that another body, in lieu of his own, should be 
put into the tomb which had been prepared for him. 

They further admit the metempsychosis : and say, that 
the same soul passes from one body into another, as many 
as seventy times : but with this difference* that the soul of 
a good man enters into a body more perfect than his own, 
and the soul of a vicious man passes into the body of an un- 
clean animal. 

They have borrowed from Christianity the Communions 
but the mode in which they practise it is perfectly fanatical ; 
for they celebrate it with wine and a morsel of meat. They 
admit only men to this Communion, excluding women .and 
children. It is in their secret assemblies, that the men ob- 
serve this practice among themselves. 

\ They celebrate some of our festivals : for example — those 
of Christmas, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, 
Easter, and some of our Apostles' and Saints' Days. 

When they are at their prayers, they turn themselves 
toward the sun ; which has led some to say that they adore 
the sun : but, on this point, they are not agreed. 

I omit various other of their customs, as being only so 
many extravagancies. They are, however, strongly attached 
to them ; persuaded as they are, that their religion is not less 
good than that of the Maronites^ because they have some 
practices in common with them. 

Several of our Missionaries have used their utmost efforts 
to gain some of them ; but as they only obstinately hear their 
own wicked Doctors, and will follow no other opinions than 
those in which they were brought up, our Missionaries, de- 
spairing of their conversion, have been obliged often to shake 
off the dust of their feet against them. 

(Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses: Vol. I. pp* 361 — 364,) 



54 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

Niebuhr has given, with a minuteness, which it 
would scarcely be compatible with the nature of 
this Work to copy, a view of the mystical doctrines 
of the Ansari. The following short concluding 
paragraph is quoted, as exhibiting a striking and 
painful illustration of the words of the Apostle — 
Their foolish heart ivas darkened: Rom. i. 21. 

The soul of a devotee among the Ansari can enter Paradise, 
after it has passed through a small number of bodies ; but 
the soul of another must have passed through eighty. The 
souls of Infidels must pass through five frightful degrees — 
Fesgh, Nesgh, Mesgh, Wegsch, and Resgh ; and, after that, 
must remain in the world as sheep, till the return of Sochra, 
that is, Fatima. Who could believe that the founders of 
such religions could possibly find followers ? 

(Niebuhr: Vol II. pp. 3(30, 361.) 

Burckhardt, in 1812, on his journey from Aleppo 
to Damascus, rested a night at Shennyn, a Village 
of the Ansari, a little north of Tripoli. He thus 
speaks of them — 

As our hosts appeared to be good-natured people, I entered, 
after supper, into conversation with them, with a view to 
obtain some information upon their religious tenets ; but they 
were extremely reserved on this head. I had heard that the 
Anzeyrys maintained, from time to time, some communication 
with the East Indies ; and that there was a temple there 
belonging to their sect, to which they occasionally sent mes- 
sengers. In the course of our conversation, I said that I 
knew there were some Anzeyrys in the East Indies : they 
were greatly amazed at this, and inquired how I had obtained 
my information ; and their countenances seemed to indicate 
that there was some truth in my assertion. They are divided 
into different sects, of which nothing is known except the 
names, viz. Kelbye, Shamsye, and MokJadjye. They en- 
tertain the curious belief, that the soul ought to quit the 
dying person's body by the mouth ; and they are extremely 



ANSARI. SB 

cautious against any accident, which they imagine may pre- 
vent it from taking that road : for this reason, whenever the 
government of Ladakie or Tripoli condemns an Anzeyry to 
death, his relations offer considerable sums, that he may be 
empaled instead of hanged. I can vouch for the truth of 
this belief, which proves at least that they have some idea 
of a future state. It appears that there are Anzeyrys in 
Anatolia and at Constantinople. Some years since a great 
man of this sect died in the mountain of Antioch ; and the 
water with which his corpse had been washed was carefully 
put into bottles and sent to Constantinople and Asia Minor. 

(fiurckhardt's Travels in Syria: p. 156.) 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



The situation and character of another Sect in 
Syria, named Ishmaelites, or Ismayly, will be learnt 
from the following extracts. 

Maszyad (situate between Aleppo and Tripoli, but nearer 
to Tripoli) is remarkable from being the chief seat of the reli- 
gious Sect called Ismayly. Inquiries have often been made 
concerning the religious doctrines of this Sect, as well as of 
those of the Anzeyrys and Druses. Not only European 
Travellers and Europeans resident in Syria, but many Natives 
of influence, have endeavoured to penetrate the mysteries of 
these idolaters, without success; and several causes combine to 
make it probable that their doctrines will long remain unknown. 
The principal reason is, that few individuals among them be- 
come acquainted with the most important and secret tenets of 
their faith ; the generality contenting themselves with the ob- 
servance of some exterior practices, w r hile the arcana are pos- 
sessed by the select few. It will be asked, perhaps, whether 
their religious books would not unveil the mystery. It is true 
that all the different Sects possess books, which they regard 
as sacred ; but they are intelligible only to the initiated. 
Another difficulty arises from the extreme caution of the 
Ismayly s upon this subject. Whenever they are obliged to 
visit any part of the country under the Turkish Government, 
they assume the character of Mussulmans ; being well aware, 
that if they should be detected in the practice of any rite 
contrary to the Turkish Religion, their hypocrisy, in affect- 
ing to follow the latter, would no longer be tolerated : and 
their being once clearly known to be Pagans, which they 
are only suspected to be at present, would expose them to the 
heaviest exactions, and might even be followed by their total 
expulsion or extirpation. Christians and Jews are tolerated, 



ISMAYLY. 57 
because Mohammed and his immediate successors granted 
them protection, and because the Turks acknowledge Christ 
and the Prophets ; but there is no instance whatever of 
Pagans being tolerated. 

(Burckhardt's Travels in Syria: pp, 151, 152.) 

Niebuhr, so copious in his accounts of other Sects, 
is, upon this, extremely concise. He observes — 

Concerning the religion of the Ishmaelites, I have learnt 
nothing certain. The Mahomedans and the Oriental Chris- 
tians relate of them things incredible. The number of the 
Ishmaelites is not great. They live principally at Killis, a 
town between Shugr and Hama; also in Gebel Kalbie, a 
mountain not far from Latachia, between Aleppo and An- 
tioch. They are called Keftun, from the name of a village 
in this country. 

Speaking of the Metawali, Ansari, and Ishmael- 
ites, Niebuhr adds — 

These nations, taken on the whole, are in general so weak 
that they can scarcely resist the Turkish Pachas. The Druses, 
on the contrary, are masters of the chief part of Mount Le- 
banon, and consequently more powerful. 

(Niebuhr : Vol. II. pp. 361, 362.) 

The Notice taken of this Sect by the Jesuit Mis- 
sionaries is also exceedingly brief: they write — 

The Ishmaelites inhabit a small territory named Cadmus. 
Their life is so brutal and shameful, that they are not fit to be 
spoken of, except it be to humiliate man, by making him feel, 
that there is no depth of degradation, disorder, and extra- 
vagance, to which he may not sink, when he takes his passions 
for his guide. 

(Lettres Edifianles et Curieuses : Vol. I. p. 



58 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



The Yesidiens may not improperly be quoted, as 
forming a part of the population of Syria. They are 
by some considered to have had their origin in Per- 
sia ; but they are met with in the countries which 
lie between Persia and the north of Syria*, and 
even in Syria itself, as may be inferred from the fact 
of a Jesuit Missionary's seeking them out, in his 
visits to Aleppo and Scandaroon. An account of 
them is found in Mosheim's Ecclesiastical Hi- 
story, Vol. IV. pp. 252, 253. and Note: Century 16. 
Sect. in. Part I. The following brief extracts are 
from Niebuhr, in his Travels near Mosul ; and from 
the Jesuit Missions in Syria. 

Speaking of a village entirely inhabited by Yesi- 
diens, Niebuhr thus describes them : — 

They are called Yesidiens, and also Dauasin : but as the 
Turks do not allow the free exercise of any religion in their 
country, except to those who possess Sacred Books, as the 
Mahomedans, Christians, and Jews, the Yesidiens are obliged 
to keep the principles of their religion extremely secret. 
They, therefore, pass themselves off for Mahomedans, Chris- 
tians, or Jews; following the party of whatever person makes 
inquiry into their religion. They speak with veneration of 
the Koran, of the Gospel, of the Pentateuch, and the Psalms ; 
and, when convicted of being Yesidiens, they will then main- 
tain that they are of the same religion as the Sonnites. Hence 
it is almost an impossibility to learn any thing certain on the 

* Tournefort says of them that they are a wandering race, and 
" stretch every year quite from Mosul or New Nineveh, to the 
sources of the Euphrates." {English Translation of Toarnefort's 
Voyage into the Levant; Vol. II. Letter 6tlt.) 



YESIDIENS. 59 

subject. Some charge them with adoring the Devil, under 
the name of " Tscillebi", that is to say, Lord. Others say 
that they exhibit a marked veneration for the sun and for fire, 
that they are downright Pagans, and that they have horrible 
ceremonies. I have been assured that the Dauasin do not 
invoke the Devil ; but that they adore God only, as the 
Creator and Benefactor of all men. They cannot, however, 
bear to speak of Satan, nor even to hear his name mentioned. 
When the Yesidiens come to Mosul, they are not appre- 
hended by the Magistrate, although known : but the people 
often endeavour to trick them ; for when these poor Yesi- 
diens come to sell their eggs or butter, the purchasers con- 
trive first to get their articles in their possession, and then 
begin uttering a thousand foolish expressions against Satan, 
with a view to lower the price ; upon which the Yesidiens are 
content to leave their goods, at a loss, rather than be the wit- 
ness of such contemptuous language about the Devil. The 
Yesidiens practise circumcision like the Mahomedans. 

(Niebuhr, Voyage en Arable: Vol II. pp. 279, 280.) 

The Jesuit Missionaries observe — 

The conversion of the Jasidies was a new object for the 
zeal of Father Besson. The Jasidies are a people who adore 
the sun, and who offer worship to the Devil as the author of 
evil. 

Father Besson formed the resolution of conveying to them 
the knowledge of the True God ; but, having been charged 
with the government of our Missions, and being no longer 
able himself to execute this design, he sent some Missionaries 
to them. The hour for the conversion of this unhappy 
people was not yet come. It was not long before this was 
perceived by the Missionaries, whom Father Besson sent to 
them. They returned, after having shaken off the dust from 
their feet. We wait the moment, when God shall be pleased, 
in his mercy, to dissipate the darkness which hinders these 
blind men from seeing the horrors of their mystery of ini- 
quity. {Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses : VoLI, p. 135.) 

This Sect is further alluded to, and little more 
than alluded to, in the Third Volume of these Let- 
tres, p. 462. 



00 



RELIGIOUS 



DENOMINATIONS. 



It may, in some measure, require an apology, to 
have exhibited to English Readers such a tissue of 
various customs and notions, many of them almost 
unmeaning, others utterly absurd, and not a few of 
them impious. 

The principal motive, which the Author had in 
making this brief introductory compilation, may be, 
perhaps, its best excuse. It was his wish hereby to 
facilitate the inquiries, or rather to disembarrass the 
course, of other Missionaries, who may in future 
times visit this country. 

Many Missionaries will have had neither leisure 
nor opportunity, previously to their arrival in Syria, 
for inquiring what are the notions or usages of the 
various Sects existing there. On arriving, they will 
soon hear a degree of importance, greater or less, 
attached to all this floating capital of human ima- 
ginations. Without some preparation from books, 
they may enter on investigations of what has long 
been known ; with a prospect, probably, of advanc- 
ing no further than others have advanced before 
them ; and this in the pursuit of an object, concern- 
ing which, if they had possessed the information 
already existing, they would have learned to regard 
additional inquiries as of very little worth. 

These remarks may be exemplified in the instance 
of the Druses, of whom a fuller account has been 
collected in the preceding pages than of any other 
body of men. The situation of this people is one 



CONCLUDING REM AUKS. 01 

of the first objects which strike the eye and the ear 
of Travellers in Syria : their power, their numbers, 
the secrecy of their Sect, the peculiarity of their cus- 
toms, and a few characteristic rumours in circulation 
concerning them — all conspire to stimulate curiosity. 
Yet probably no information is to be had of their 
real state, much beyond what has long existed in 
print: or if there be further stores, similar to those 
already half-revealed, it may possibly be better that 
they should remain unknown. Should the un- 
healthy appetite still crave for further acquaintance 
with Man's many inventions in these far-famed re- 
cesses of Mount Lebanon, it may, moreover, be * 
doubted whether this singular race would ever ad- 
mit a foreigner to the mysteries of the Order ; or, 
finally, were this practicable, what Missionary would 
be justified in purchasing such knowledge at the ex- , 
pense of Druse-fraternization ? 

The wisest of men was taught by his own expe- 
rience, that in much wisdom is much grief; and the 
great Apostle under the Gospel Dispensation desired 
to have his converts simple concerning evil; deter- 
mining, for his part, to know nothing among them 
but Jesus Christ and him crucified! It might seem, 
therefore, that, after having investigated much the 
sentiments of erring men, it were a wise resolution 
to relinquish such studies — never to revert to them 
but from a motive of necessity — and gladly to seize 
the opportune moment for abandoning them. 

To be wholly ignorant of the opinions of men in 
Syria may be the happy lot of private Christians in 
our own country : but it is otherwise with the duty 
of a Missionary. His is the painful task to read, 
not only his own evil heart, but the Volume like- 



G2 RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

wise of other men's experience ; that he may know 
whom he has to encounter, what he has to refute, 
and where it is wisest to be silent and to stop. 
Happy for him, also, when he finds that period. 

For these reasons, while the private reader may 
pardon, the Missionary Student may probably be 
grateful to, the Writer for this Introductory View. 
And may all, who shall have scanned these weary- 
ing pages, be excited to a livelier sense of pity for 
the benighted and deluded wanderers, whose cha- 
racters and sentiments have been thus variously de- 
picted ! How should our hearts glow at the thought 
of the bringing-in of a better hope! That Hope the 
Christian finds in his Bible : to this unerring Volume 
he turns his exhausted, aching eyes, and is revived! 
Most truly can the Author testify, that, after revolv- 
ing for hours the ponderous tomes of the Acts of the 
Councils, the Researches of Assemann, and many 
other voluminous Works, on suddenly casting a 
glance upon that one book, never to be removed 
from his table, often has he experienced such a lively 
transition of feeling, as cannot be better described 
than by the well-known simile of our sacred Poet — 

•■As when a scout, 
Through dark and desert ways with peril gone 
All night, at last, by break of cheerful dawn, 
Obtains the brow of some high-climbing hill, 
Which to his eye discovers unaware 
The goodly prospect of some foreign land 
First seen, or some renown'd metropolis 
With glist'ring spires and pinnacles adorn'd, 
Which now the rising sun gilds with his beams ! — 

(Paradise Lost: Book III.) 



JOURNAL 

OP A 

Vi&it to &nvia attir tt)t $oifi llattlr, 

IN THE YEAR 
1823, 



65 



JOURNAL. 

Tuesday, Sept, 9, 1823 — We set sail from Alexan- 
dria to Beirout. 

Saturday Evening, Sept. 13 — Standing off the 
Coast of Saide and Beirout, we had a brilliant view 
of the illuminations which take place on the Moun- 
tains on the eve of the Festival of the Holy Cross. 
From north to south, there was a kind of semi- 
amphitheatrical exhibition of lights; which increased 
in brilliancy, as the darkness of evening came on. 
Some of them rose to a very considerable height 
above the horizon, marking the great elevation of the 
Mountains. I counted fifty. These large fires 
were lighted by the Monasteries and Churches ; and 
throughout the whole of Mount Lebanon, from Tri- 
poli to Sour, and in various other parts, this cere- 
mony would take place. Considering that our view 
was partial, we may calculate, that not fewer per- 
haps than 500 such fires were lighted : the statement 
of numbers, however, whether calculated, or re- 
ported by those who ought to know, is not implicitly 
to be depended upon. In subsequent remarks on 
the number of Monasteries, or of different Sects 
and Denominations, or of the Population of towns, I 
would prepare every person not to expect, what it 
is next to impossible to attain, perfect accuracy. 

BEIROUT. 

Monday, Sept. 15 — I landed at Beirout ; and was 
kindly received by the English Consul, Peter 
Abbot, Esq. He informs me, that Mr. Lewis is 

F 



C6 JOURNAL. 

occupying the College at Antoura, purchased by Mr. 
Way for the Jews' Society ; and that Mr. Fisk and 
Mr. Wolff are with him, and Mr. King at Deir el 
Kami*. I was greatly surprised to hear of the de- 
parture of Mr. Way from this country, and con- 
cerned to learn that illness had been the cause. To 
Antoura I immediately sent an Express Courier, 
with many letters from the W est. 

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 1823— Mr. Fisk and Mr. Lewis 
came over to Beirout, to welcome me to Syria. 
This is the first time, that, on landing in a foreign 
station, I have found Missionary Brethren on the 
spot : and the benefit of it I felt inexpressibly ; as, 
in the compass of a few words, a rapid view is taken 
of the bearings of every thing in the country ; and 
the heart, animated by the sight of fellow-labourers 
and fellow-sufferers, takes courage. We wrote also 
to Mr. King at Deir el Kamr, to join us at Antoura. 
On Wednesday and Thursday we conversed on 
many plans, and united in prayer for a blessing on 
our future course. 

ANTOURA. 

Friday, Sept. 19 — Left Beirout for Antoura. Not 
being able to bear much exertion in the heat, I was 
four hours and three-quarters on the journey : it 
may easily be done in less. The scenery through 
the Valley of Nahr el Kelb was very fine ; remind- 
ing me sometimes of Derbyshire scenery — though 
not of the softer parts, as Dove-Dale — but with 
one additional feature, which no part of Derbyshire 
enjoys, a noble prospect of the sea. 

I found Mr. Wolff extremely unwell. He seems 
to be so absorbed in his pursuits, and to carry the 
labours of body and mind to such a full stretch, 



AN TOUR A. 67 

that it would be a miracle if he were well. Mr. 
Fisk says, that, ever since crossing the Desert, his 
health has been visibly declining. I have given 
him some very seasonable medicine, and put him on 
a new diet. He has as little idea of taking care of 
himself, as if he had no body. His Researches in 
Jerusalem appear to have been very interesting, and 
his labours there very useful. 

Saturday, Sept. 20 — We had much conversa- 
tion about this College of Antoura. The only 
topic which I will here notice, is, that, as Celibate 
Colleges are on no account whatever to be contem- 
plated, it is of great moment that Missionaries 
should be happy in the choice of their partners. 
The Wife of a Missionary residing here, should be 
of a cheerful temper : she should know how to put 
up with vexatious circumstances, without being 
fretted : she should be able quickly to throw aside 
her various troubles : especially, she ought practi- 
cally to understand the duties of a good Mistress 
toward Servants; for she will have to train ser- 
vants — she will not find them: she must be a 
thoroughly good, and good-tempered, manager. 
And her Husband had need to be very kind to her; 
for she will give up a great deal for him and his 
Mission. The monastic life must never more be 
encouraged. If any of our Protestant Missionaries 
remain single, let it be for facility of travelling ; but 
not to people Monasteries. This part of the world 
needs — as indeed what part does not?— the benefit 
of well-regulated female society; not for the sake 
of giving an elegant polish, but to inspire feeling 
and gentleness. 

The Bishop, Mar Hanna Maroni, called, and sat 

F 2 



08 journal: 

with us two hours. He superintends the Nunneries 
adjacent: in this he is acting for Monseignior Gan- 
dolfi, who is absent at his Summer House. Mar 
Hanna Maroni is the Maronite Patriarch's Yicar ; 
and is an aged and clever man, but disappointed at 
not having been elected Patriarch, some months ago, 
when the present Patriarch, a rather young man, 
was raised in preference to him. He says there are 
in Mount Lebanon upward of eighty Convents ; of 
which about ten are Greek-Catholic, three Arme- 
nian-Catholic, and one Syrian-Catholic — the rest all 
Maronite. Of Greeks, called by them Schismatic, 
but styled, by themselves, the Orthodox, there are 
no Convents in the Mountains. He, himself, studied 
at Rome ; and was there when Pope Ganganelli 
abolished the Order of the Jesuits in 1773. At that 
time there w r as a Maronite House at Rome ; which, 
in the French Revolution, was sold and secularised. 
A new one has not been established. It was, indeed, 
arranged, that, with regard to the alienated property 
of the Propaganda, the former and the present 
possessors should equally divide and suffer the de- 
triment : but possession has, in this instance, proved 
to be nine-points of the law ; and the losers enjoy, 
up to this hour, nothing more than repeated pro- 
mises of restitution. The various Maronites who 
go to Rome act as teachers or interpreters, and 
thus procure a little interest for themselves : there 
are four or five there now. 

The Churches and Convents in Mount Lebanon 
have bells — a most pleasing distinction in the heart 
of Turkey : they remind one of College-life ; sound- 
ing for dinner, matins, and vespers. 

At present, the Maronites are suffering extreme 



A N TO U 11 A. 69 

" avanias," or extortions, from their ruler, the Emir 
Bechir. It is a peculiar privilege enjoyed by Eu- 
ropeans, that their houses can give protection to 
the natives. A very few days ago, a young Sheik 
took asylum in this College : the Missionaries were 
a little perplexed by this new kind of visit : though, 
for the sake of humanity, there are cases in which 
every feeling man would be glad to possess and 
exercise this privilege ; yet bordering, as it seems to 
do, on interference with the civil authorities of the 
place, or with the political state of the country, it 
might evidently be sometimes an embarrassing cir- 
cumstance to a Christian Missionary. 

Beirout is under the Pacha of Acre. In the city 
and near it, are a few Turks ; but none in the 
Mountains : which are under the direct rule of the 
Emir Bechir, commonly called Prince of the Druses; 
although he is, himself, not of that body, but by 
profession a Christian. He holds his office under 
the Pacha of Acre. 

We, this afternoon, began a custom, which we 
continued nearly every day during our residence 
together at this place — that of engaging in con- 
ference on some religious subject, of a nature 
bearing practically on our Missionary Work. A 
subject was proposed by each in rotation, and a 
day beforehand ; so that time for reflection upon it 
might be secured. Our conversation was preceded 
by prayer ; after which each in turn gave his opinion, 
the rest noting down in a book what was said, 
These parties usually lasted two hours*. 

* As the College of Antoura has recently acquired a new interest 
from its connection with the London Jews' Society, it may be 

agreeable 



70 JOURNAL. 

Sunday, Sept. 2 1 , 1 823— In the morning I preached 
to our small family in English, from 2 Cor. iv. 1,2. 
Therefore seeing ice have this ministry, as we have 
received mercy, we faint not: but have renounced the 
hidden tilings of dishonesty ; not ivalking in crafti- 
ness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully ; 
but, by manifestation of the truth, commending our- 
selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God. 
In the evening, Mr. Fisk preached in Italian, from 
Isaiah viii. 20. To the law, and to the testimony: if 
they speak not according to this word, it is because 

agreeable to the reader to be made acquainted with the circum- 
stances, which led, about a hundred years ago, to its first establish- 
ment. They are thus related by the Superior of the Jesuit 
Missionaries, in the First Volume of the " Lettres Edifiantes et 
Curieuses." This account is connected with the history of M. 
Lambert, one of the five principal Merchants, directors of the French 
Congregation established at Saide, which will be noticed hereafter. 
This person, having learnt from the Missionaries the necessity 
and advantages of a Mission to Ispahan, the Capital of Persia, con- 
ceived the design of devoting himself to this service: having put 
his affairs in order, and drawn up his last Will and Testament, he 
quitted Saide with the intention of joining the Missionary Fathers 
in Persia. After many vicissitudes, he landed in India, near to 
Meliapor. Here he visited the Tomb of St. Thomas, and took 
counsel with a Religious of the Order of St. Augustine ; who, having 
fully considered what might be the nature of his vocation, advised 
him to go straight to Rome, and there apply to the Superior General 
of the Jesuits. He did this, and was accepted. After two years 
of Novitiate, he was ordained Priest, and appointed to Palestine. 
The narration then proceeds as follows : — 

" He quitted Rome with two young Jesuits, who earnestly de- 
sired to accompany him. They all three embarked in a vessel 
destined for Saide or Tripoli ; but Providence, which had thus far 
conducted Father Lambert, and designed to use him for the esta- 
blishment of a Mission to the Maronites, suffered a violent tem- 
pest to cast his vessel on the coast adjacent to a little village called 
Antoura. The inhabitants, seeing a vessel approach their coast, took 
it for a Corsair ; and,without particularly examining what it was, ran 
and seized Father Lambert, his two companions, and some other pas- 
sengers, and conducted them before the Commandant of the country. 

" This 



ANTOURA. 71 

there is no light in them; The household here con- 
sists (besides ourselves) of a converted Jew, Reuben 
Coster, whom Mr. Way brought, with him from 
Nice ; and a young Jew of Jerusalem, Abraham by 
name, who, though not a convert, joins in our Ser- 
vices : there are also two Servants, Maronites. 

I was much interested, walking in the evening on 
the terrace to meditate on the 104th Psalm, with 
many of the expressions in verses 16 — 18, & 24 — 26, 
as verified to my sight ; especially in turning to the 
noble view of the Western Sea — the very same great 

" This Commandant was Abunaufel, a Maronite, the most respecta- 
ble of his Nation. The fame of his probity was so great, that Louis XIV, 
of happy memory, chose him, although a subject of the Grand Seignior, 
to be Consul of the French Nation, and sent him his Brevet to that effect. 

" It was before this person that Father Lambert and his two 
companions appeared. Abunaufel interrogated them. In tneir 
answers they declared what they were, shewing him the Patents of 
the Reverend Father General. 

" Abunaufel readily perceived that these supposed Corsairs were 
Missionaries sent him by Providence. He gave them the best recep- 
tion possible, and lodged them in his house. Their arrival, and the 
intercourse which he had with them, suggested to him the idea of 
establishing a Mission in his country, in order to give the Maronites 
of Mount Lebanon that spiritual assistance of which they are so often 
deprived. He made the proposition to Father Lambert, and offered 
him a settlement in his own domain ; situated in a part of Mount 
Lebanon called *Kesroan. 

" Father Lambert, after having consulted the Superiors of our 
Syrian Missions and received favourable answers, accepted, on their 
part, the offers of Abunaufel. This person kept his word with the 
Missionaries ; appointing them a lot of ground sufficient to build a 
small house with a Chapel : he even bore a share of the necessary 
expenses. Father Lambert was the man chosen by God to be the 
founder of the Mission of Antoura. He opened it with an extra- 
ordinary concourse of people, who assisted at the first exercises of 
the Mission. Aided by his two companions, he continued his exer- 
tions tilt death, with indefatigable zeal." 

(Lettres Edijiantes et Curieuses: Vol. I. pp. 220 — 229.) 

* The name of this district is sometimes spelt, Kastravan. It lies 
between Beirout and Tripoli. 



72 JOURNAL. 

deep which David contemplated when celebrating 
the praises of Jehovah. 

A Priest and a Sheik from Ain el Warka called 
in the morning. Sunday is a visiting day, here also ! 
May our example benefit them! 

Monday, Sept. 22, 1823— Mr. Fisk and myself 
called on Mar Hanna Maroni. He relates that 
there is trouble in the Mountains ; and states the 
following facts as the cause of it. As several of the 
Sheiks have fled from their homes, for asylum in 
Frank houses, the Emir has sent a party of fifty 
soldiers, who passed by this place only yesterday, 
to set fire to the houses of those absconded Sheiks, 
and cut down their fruit-trees ; so as to force them 
out of their hiding-places. He thinks there will be 
a re-action — a slight rebellion. 

It is but a very few months since this Prince fled 
from Mount Lebanon to Egypt, in order to escape 
from the vengeance of three assembled Pachas, who 
besieged the Pacha of Acre. He has now returned 
in safety ; and, besides replacing various pecuniary 
losses at the expense of the Chieftains among the 
Mountains, he is also singling out those who did not 
stand true to his cause during his temporary flight. 

The Bishop received us in the " Parlatorio" of 
the Nunnery. Several Nuns came to the grated 
window. There are twenty-three of them who have 
taken the vow. One, of eighty years of age — two 
or three, of twenty or twenty-five. They were all 
very talkative, and very inquisitive ; evidently cu- 
rious to know something of that world, from which 
they are now for ever secluded. The Bishop, who 
speaks Italian fluently, inveighed bitterly against 
all Monachism ; and said, if he were the Pope, 



ANTOURA. 73 

he would immediately abolish every Brotherhood 
and Sisterhood of them. The freedom of the Sis- 
ters was not inferior to his. On my mentioning that 
1 was married, they inquired very particularly about 
my wife and children, and wished me to bring my 
wife to visit them. On this the Abbess, a lively wo- 
man of about thirty-five years of age, asked my 
companion, whether he were married: on his an- 
swering in the negative, she vehemently demanded, 
"Why not?" — and did not spare reproofs. The 
Bishop, though himself unmarried, added in Ara- 
bic — " Sijra bla tamr" — "A tree without fruit!" 

I cannot say that I was led to form a favourable 
opinion of Monasticism, or of Nunneries. Mr. 
Fisk and myself, conversing fully on this subject 
afterward, agreed that those Nunneries, which are 
under the closest seclusion and confinement, are, in 
some instances, liable to become the most corrupt. 
In Jerusalem, the Nuns have the liberty of visiting 
their friends. These, being in some measure under 
the public eye, are probably more correct. 

I inquired from the Bishop, in reference to the 
acknowledging of the Council of Trent, which was 
solemnly done by a National Council of the Ma- 
ronite Clergy in the year 1736, whether the acts of 
that Council were printed in Arabic. No — he re- 
plied: but they have a manuscript copy in Arabic. 
It is difficult to me to conceive how these Clergy of 
the Mountains should have thoroughly weighed all 
the matter contained in the acts of that Council; 
but not difficult to understand how they should 
have been disciplined into adopting it. Implicit 
faith believes, and implicit obedience submits to, 

ANY THING. 



74 JOURNAL. 

Tuesday, Sept. 23 — Mr. King refreshed us by 
his arrival. We are now five Missionaries — all, in 
some degree, with different objects, or under dif- 
ferent characters ; but all uniting in Christian love, 
counsel, and labour, on Mount Lebanon — Mr. Fisk, 
a Missionary from America to Palestine — Mr. King, 
whose original plan was to study Arabic, in order 
to return, after three years, as Arabic Professor to 
one of the Colleges of America, is here adding 
Missionary exertions to his studies — Mr. Wolff, a 
converted Jew, labouring for the Jews, under the 
patronage of wealthy and noble-minded individuals 
— Mr. Lewis, a Clergyman of our United Church, 
for the same cause under the Jews' Society— and 
myself, serving the Church Missionary Society. 

The Village, if such it may be called, of Antoura, 
consists of about twenty small and scattered houses ; 
of which, three are ecclesiastical — namely, the Re- 
sidence of Monseignior Gandolfi, Vicar Apostolic of 
the Pope, now absent from home ; the Nunnery ; 
and the College, in which we are living, and which 
was endowed about ninety years ago. Several Mo- 
nasteries are within sight, or within a moderate 
distance. This, in fact, may be considered, gene- 
rally, to be the character of the Mountains. Their 
population consists almost entirely of monks and 
peasants. Of the peasants, a great number carry 
arms. In fact, every young man may, in some 
sense, be called a soldier; and would, in case of 
need, muster as such: the gun, which serves him 
for field-sport and sustenance, is ready for the call 
of war ; and his discipline consists in the bracing, 
hardy habits of a Mountaineer. It would be diffi- 
cult for European Troops to find their way through 



ANTOURA — CONVENT OF AIN EL WARK A. 75 

Mount Lebanon, if the natives chose to embarrass 
them. 

The country is here as remarkable for the innu- 
merable multitude of its mulberry-trees, as Egypt is 
for its palm-trees. During the chief part of the 
year, these mulberry-trees clothe the prospect, in 
every direction, with a most delightful verdure. 
As they are not cultivated for fruit, but for their 
leaves, from which a great quantity of silk-worms 
are reared, they are polled generally when the stem 
is about six feet high ; and the small branches, or 
rather twigs, then burst out in most luxuriant foli- 
age. An immense quantity of silk is thus raised in 
Syria. The trees are planted in regular lines. In 
the winter months, they pass a light plough over the 
soil between them, so that it may drink in the rain 
more plentifully. I do not remember to have seen 
mulberry -trees reared in Egypt; though I know of 
no reason why they should not flourish, in some parts 
of that country. In Psalm lxxvhi. 48, in the Prayer- 
Book Translation, it is said, that God destroyed 
their mulberry -trees with the frost. This would be 
a dreadful calamity to a country in the circum- 
stances in which Lebanon now is, as it would ruin 
the valuable trade of silk. The true sense, however, 
of that verse is given in the Version of the Bible, 
where the word is rendered sycamore-trees. This 
tree has a leaf somewhat like the leaf of the mul- 
berry-tree ; and its fruit is a wild fig. The wood of 
it is peculiarly durable. 

CONVENT OF AIN EL WARKA. 

Friday, Sept. 26 — I called on the Bishop Hanna 
Maroni, who very readily gave me Letters for 



70 JOURNAL. 

Ain el Warka ; a College about four hours to the 
north, in which the Maronites are taught Syriac, 
and prepared for the priesthood. He also gave me 
a Letter for Hanna Stambooli, a priest, who seems 
to be doing penance at Ain el Warka, and is com- 
pelled to perform the office of preceptor there. In 
the afternoon, I set off, with Mr. Wolff, to perform 
this visit. We arrived just at sun-set. I cannot 
say that we were received with much hospitality: 
there was, in fact, an air of reserve and coldness, 
which was to be attributed to various little circum- 
stances, needless to relate here. The Superior, 
however, ordered us a supper, and made various 
apologies for its not being better prepared : a cheer- 
ful welcome would have made a much humbler sup- 
per a grateful entertainment. Hanna Stambooli, 
as his name is designed to indicate, has studied at 
Constantinople, which gives him a character of great 
superiority to the Maronite mountaineers. He very 
eagerly asked, if I would take him to England; and 
seemed chagrined that some such plan could not be 
devised for him. Something, however, better than 
talent united with the love of travelling is requisite 
to induce us to take up and patronise the men of 
the East. Here are twenty-two Pupils: only one or 
two, however, came near us. Of these, one was 
Luigi Assemanni, great nephew of the celebrated 
author of the " Bibliotheca Orientalis the same 
who was the Pope's Legate in the National Council 
of the Maronites in 1736. This is a tender and ra- 
ther interesting youth, of eighteen years of age: he 
left Rome at the age of eleven ; and hopes to return 
thither, as Oriental Interpreter, in the course of a 
few years. I gave him an Arabic Testament, 



CONVENT OF HAREESA. 77 

writing for him a direction in it, by which he might 
mid me in Malta ; accompanied by some good 
advice. 

CONVENT OF HAREESA. 

Saturday, Sept. 27, 1823— Very early in the morn- 
ing we departed. The Superior being at Church, 
we could not personally take leave of him ; and, of 
the young Students, it was plain we should see 
nothing. In our way to Antoura we called at the 
Convent of Hareesa, or Arissa ; and here spent the 
middle of the day. Padre Carlo, the Superior, was 
absent. He is a Franciscan Friar, and was long in 
Egypt. He acted as Dragoman to General Desaix, 
who commanded the Expedition in 1798. What 
scenes for a Missionary to have passed through ! 
not indeed necessarily involving guilty participation ; 
but bringing him continually within the sphere of 
temptation— making deeds of violence, and lust, 
and rapine, and treachery familiar to his eye ; and 
entirely distracting him from the peaceful, retiring, 
and laborious life of a Missionary. This Padre has 
been the usual round of Jerusalem, Nazareth, &c. 
He has the whole of this beautiful, spacious, and 
airy Convent to himself. It is impossible to survey 
what this Convent once must have been, and what it 
now is, without feeling as if Rome were evidently 
on the decline. See her outworks — her foreign, 
boasted Missions — reduced to a mere shade ! How- 
ever, the house, at present, serves as an asylum for 
some of the Emir's subjects, who, during his flight 
to Egypt, five months ago, were alienating from 
him, and are now required to pay heavy sums. 
Some of these were now actually living with their 



78 JOURNAL. 

whole establishment in the Convent ; and, in the 
absence of the Latin Superior, gave orders for our 
entertainment. Dinner was very heartily and ho- 
spitably prepared, in a manner quite contrasted with 
that at Ain el Warka. 

RETURN" TO ANTOURA. 

We returned by sun-set to Antoura ; and in the 
evening, being the last evening of the week, we 
united, according to the custom of the Church Mis- 
sionary Society, in prayer for the success of Chris- 
tian Missions throughout the world. 

Sunday, Sept. 28, 1823 — Mr. King, in the morn- 
ing, preached in English from Luke ix. 58. Foxes 
have holes, and birds of the air have nests ; but the 
Son of 3Ian hath not iv/iere to lay his head — words 
so peculiarly descriptive of the daily humiliation of 
our Redeemer. " We all of us," Mr. King ob- 
served, " think too much of our comforts." He 
drew, in a very touching nanner, the contrast of our 
Saviours laborious Ministry. In the Evening, I 
preached in Italian, from 1 Cor. ii. 9 — 16. 

RETURN TO BE1R0UT. 

Monday, Sept. 20 — I left Antoura for Beirout. 

Tuesday, Sept. 30 — Mr. Lewis and myself dined 
with our Consul, Mr. Abbot. He gave several 
instances of the extreme difficulty of coming at the 
truth in this country — a topic peculiarly necessary 
to be upon the mind of a Missionary. 



DEIR EL K AMR. 

Wednesday, Oct. 1 — Went, with Mr. Lewis, to 



DEIR EL KAMR — EBTEDIN. 79 

Deir el Kamr ; which may be called the Capital 
of Mount Lebanon, as being the residence of the 
Emir Bechir, Prince of the Mountains. We went, 
in fact, expressly to pay our respects to him. The 
journey took us nine very hot and tedious hours. 
Half-way, at Ainep, we halted for some time, to 
rest and refresh ourselves. We were here about 
half-way up one of the highest parts of Mount Le- 
banon ; and higher steeps yet remained for us to 
ascend, in the course of the afternoon, Although 
the season is not yet for the snow of Lebanon, (Jer. 
xviii. 14.) yet we found the cold Jloiving waters, 
coming from the rock of the field ', exquisitely ex* 
hilarating. We arrived at the picturesque Valley of 
Deir el Kamr just by sunset. The town, inhabited by 
about two thousand souls, is on the left-hand moun- 
tain. At a distance, on the mountain of the other 
side, stands the Palace of Ebtedin, presenting a 
very bold and martial front. We had a Letter to 
a respectable man in the town, of the name of 
Yoosef Doomani, with whom Mr. King had lodged 
some weeks : his third son, Hanna, was Mr. King's 
preceptor in Arabic. All gave us an enthusiastic 
welcome. Before supper, the master of the house 
directed the servant to bring in a large brass pan, 
full of warm water, in which for the first, and indeed 
the only time, that I ever experienced such atten- 
tion, he illustrated the ancient custom of washing 
the feet of strangers ; and no compliment could 
have been more seasonable. 

EBTEDIN. 

Thursday, Oct. 2 — I went, with Mr. Lewis, to 
the Palace of Ebtedin, an hour's distance from 



80 JOURNAL. 

Deir el Kamr. W hile waiting in one of the nume- 
rous rooms which surround the Great Court, the 
Secretary came in, heard our business, and received 
our Letters ; which were, in fact, only to request 
passports. This was a ceremony which it was very 
desirable that we should perform ; for, although an 
Englishman universally in this country commands 
respect, yet the Authorities may reasonably expect 
the compliment of a visit, to request their protection. 
The document, afterward given me in the afternoon, 
is sufficiently laconic ; and runs in the following 
terms : — 

This is to inform all who shall see it; and let them regard it 
universally : 

That whereas the Bearer of this our Order, Mr. Jowett, 
an Englishman, is desirous to travel from place to place 
within the confines of the Mountain, it is our will that no man 
should contradict him ; and wheresoever he goes, he shall 
enjoy protection, security, and respect. 

We have signified this. 

(Signed) BECHIR. 
(With the impression of his signet on the back of the paper.) 

CONVERSATION ON THE DRUSES. 

Previously to our waiting on the Emir, his Physi- 
cian, Seignior Bertrand, who speaks French well, 
came into the room where we were. Conversation 
turned, among other points, on the Druses. He 
divides them into three classes. The first of these 
is the " Djahelin," a word which signifies the igno- 
rant : these know nothing about religion, and are 
never initiated into the secrets of the Order : they 
are, indeed, assembled on the Thursday Evening, 
in a place considered as a Place of Worship, from 



DRUSES. 81 

which, after an hour, they are required to withdraw; 
but, in every other respect, they are kept in perfect 
ignorance and subjection. The remainder Seignior 
Bertrand divided into two classes — those who are 
partially admitted to the knowledge of their myste- 
ries ; and those who are perfectly initiated. The 
partially-initiated may return, if they desire it, into 
the order of the " Djahelin," but must never reveal 
what they know. The third class, who are the per- 
fect adepts, must ever remain such : these continue 
together late on the Thursday Night, performing 
their ceremonies, after all others have been ex- 
cluded. 

I inquired if they have the power of life and 
death: he replied, " No."—" But," I asked, 44 if any 
of them should reveal the secret?" He answered, 
" They would certainly kill him." — 6 6 Are any of 
them ever converted to Christianity, Judaism, or 
Mahomedanism ?" "No: it would be death. They 
live, it is true, intermingled with Christians in the 
villages, but they never intermarry with them." 

I alluded to their dress — He said, "In the pre- 
cincts of the Court, they made no distinction, not to 
offend the Emir" — and pointed out a person in the 
room, whom from his dress we should not have 
known to be a Druse, but who, he said, was one of 
the highest Adepts. He appeared about thirty-five 
years of age. 

It is said that they make no proselytes; it being 
one of their opinions, that there is a certain number 
of souls already initiated, and which never increases 
or diminishes. When a Druse dies, his soul is sup- 
posed to migrate, either into some animal, or some 
other living person: and thus, by constant transmi- 



82 JOURNAL. 

gration, they never cease to exist; and, in due cycle, 
to appear upon the earth. 

It is said to be death to shew their Sacred Books 
to any uninitiated person: yet there are many Manu- 
scripts shewn about, purporting- to be of this descrip- 
tion, procured furtively; and, when they are lent or 
sold, it is done under promise of secrecy. A set of 
these books was put in our way, some days ago, for 
purchase ; and the enormous sum of five thousand 
dollars asked for them I I, for my part, felt suffi- 
ciently content with the account given of them, in 
De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe and in Niebuhr's 
Travels. Were I to be as a Missionary in the midst 
of them, I should probably make no attempt to pe- 
netrate into their mystery : so far as it might hinder 
the reception of the pure Gospel, I should consider 
it as so much of Satan's ground, and not go upon 
it; but should invite them off from it, to walk with 
me in a plainer path. I entertain no doubt but that 
God would bless this method, eventually, in His 
own time : and, when converted, the Druses would, 
probably, of their own accord, imitate that memora- 
ble act of the new converts at Ephesus — bring their 
books together, and burn them before all men — even 
though the price of them should be more than Jifty 
thousand pieces of silver*. 

INTERVIEW WITH THE EMIR BECHIR. 

We were then introduced with the usual forms to 
the Emir, had chairs given us, and were treated with 

*On the subject of the Druses, seethe account of them, under 
the head of " Religious Denominations," in a former part of this 
Volume ; and pp. 444 — 446 of " Christian Researches in the Me- 
diterranean." 



PALACE OF EBTEDIN. 83 

coffee and sherbet. The political difficulties of the 
Emir are well stated by Burckhardt, in his interesting 
Volume on Syria. I noted his physiognomy, which 
is very strongly marked about the eye-brows, as 
though constant care and pain dwelt in that region. 
Once or twice his features relaxed into a smile ; 
but his very smile was stern. Since his return, five 
months ago, from Egypt, he has been on a continual 
stretch, pursuing his enemies, and exacting extra- 
ordinary supplies. His age may be about sixty 
years. His inquiries were only about Spain and 
France, and the conversation was short. 

PALACE OF EBTEDIN. 

After seeing the Emir, we were shewn over the 
Palace. A beautiful long gun, taken from the 
French, was shewn among other curiosities. 

We dined in an open Court-yard, overlooking 
the valley to the sea. Wine was not brought, being 
prohibited ; as the Emir wished to keep up some- 
what of a Mussulman appearance, in compliment to 
Abdallah Pacha, under whom he holds the sove- 
reignty of the Mountains. 

After dinner we visited the Christian Church ; a 
small building, about a hundred yards from the pre- 
cincts of the Palace. The Emir does not attend it. 
In fact, he seems to be of no Religion — thinking that, 
perhaps, to be the most convenient way of satisfying 
persons of all Religions. He formerly, it is said, used 
to have a Romish Confessor ; but has ceased even 
from that ceremony. Some, indeed, say that his 
Confessor would no longer grant him absolution. 

The Church is small. All the Books were in 
Syriac. Here we saw nine young Greeks, chiefly 

g 2 



84 JOURNAL. 

Sciotes; whom the Emir lately brought from Cairo. 
They are learning' to read Arabic ; and the Priest is 
their Schoolmaster. We have already seen two of 
them in attendance upon the Emir. 

There are said to be two thousand persons em- 
ployed, in and about the Palace. In fact, we saw 
many professions and trades going on in it — soldiers, 
horse-breakers, carpenters, black-smiths, scribes, 
cooks, tobacconists, &c. There was, in the air of 
this mingled assemblage, something which forcibly 
brought to my recollection the description of an 
Eastern Royal-Household, as given to the Israelites 
by Samuel, 1 Sam. viii. 11 — 17. 

INTERVIEW WITH A YOUNG ABYSSINIAN. 

While looking round these premises, my eye was 
caught by the figure of a dark-coloured Young 
Man, sitting under a tree, writing Arabic. His air 
and his countenance bespoke somewhat of superior 
feeling. On my approaching, he rose. We sat down 
together ; and, in reply to my questions, he in- 
formed me that he was an Abyssinian. There is 
something in the very sound of that name, which 
wakens all my sympathies. I entered into con- 
versation with him, in Italian ; and briefly learnt 
his history, as follows : — He is now eighteen years 
of age : he was eight years old, when he was taken 
in Abyssinia, and made a slave, and carried into 
Egypt. Here he served a Mahomed an master, 
who tried every art of bribery and of terror to 
induce him to become a Mussulman ; but in vain : 
he never would change his Religion. His master 
dying, he entered into the service of another ; when 
the opportunity offered of going to study at Milan, 



INTERVIEW WITH A YOUNG ABYSSINIAN. 85 

for the purpose of introducing learning into Egypt. 
This was about 1818. The Kiaya Bey, or Prime 
Minister of the Pacha, manifested, when he was 
presented, the greatest rage at his having remained 
a Christian. In Italy he learned Italian, which he 
speaks easily ; and he there also acquired a certain 
air of European courtesy, which Egypt could not 
have taught him ; although, possibly, it may be in- 
nate ; for the Abyssinians are generally celebrated 
for gentleness of manners. On his returning to 
Egypt, the Emir, during his visit there, obtained 
him, together with the other slaves whom he has 
brought hither. The name given him is Moose el 
Habeshl ; but, knowing that the Abyssinians never 
give Jewish names, I asked if that was his real 
name*. He said, no, his proper name was Chris - 
tinos. He has quite forgotten the Abyssinian 
Language. While in Cairo, he became a Roman 
Catholic There was a great rivalry between the 
two Christian Secretaries of the Pacha — Mallem 
Hanna Taouil, a Copt ; and Mallem Ghali, a Ro- 
man Catholic. The Copt, by means of his country- 
men, raised taxes and performed offices of the Civil 
Business so much cheaper than the other, that the 
Pacha thought him a fit man to send to the Upper 
Country : he therefore went with the Expedition to 
Dongola. Mallem Ghali had given some affront to 
Ibrahim Pacha, who shot him ; and, with his death, 
the Roman-Catholic Interest suffered a great blow. 
When I asked Moose if he desired ever to return to 
his own country, he expressed his hopes, with tears, 
that he should. I related the business of the 



* The Christians of Syria, on the contrary, freely give Old-Testa- 
ment names to their children. 



86 JOURNAL. 

Amharic Version of the Sacred Scriptures, and en- 
couraged him to expect happier days for his country. 
He mentioned that Priests alone get safely from 
Abyssinia to Jerusalem ; but it is not till they have 
been beaten, and robbed of all that can be got out 
of them, by the Mahornedans on the coast of the 
Red Sea. He says there are several Abyssinians, 
as he was, kept as slaves, in private houses in Cairo. 
I invited him to visit me at Deir el Kamr: he 
said that the Emir would probably not permit him ; 
but he is very kind to him. I promised to send him 
some Arabic Scriptures, for himself and the youths 
around him at school. " Do," he said : " you will 
be doing a great charity." I gave him my name on 
paper; that if ever he should visit Malta, he might 
find me. I described to him Abu Rumi and M. 
Asselin. He seemed to have some knowledge of 
Abu Rumi ; and M. Asselin he had seen in the 
house of his Mahomedan master. He mentioned, 
what I never heard before, that the Abyssinians, 
when they catch Mahornedans, sometimes compel 
them to become Christians. The converse is too 
well known to be the case. 



RETURN TO DEIR EL KAMR. 

Friday, Oct. 3, 1823— This morning Mr. Lewis 
returned to Beirout ; while I determined to spend 
some days with this family at Deir el Kamr, and to 
read Arabic with the third son, Hanna, who had 
been preceptor to Mr. King. 

In the afternoon, he called his mother into the 
room, and begged me to explain the object of the 
Missionaries in this country; which I did fully — 



DEI it EL KAMR. 8T 

dwelling especially on this, ff that the Son of God 
had come to save man, and yet thousands as yet do 
not know Him." I find that the more simply this 
truth is told, the stronger the case appears to them 
— and the more strongly does it affect my own 
mind. This grand view throws all controversial 
matter to an infinite distance in the back-ground. 

Sunday, Oct, 5 — There are three marriages in the 
town to-day. They are to be performed in the 
evening : but, throughout the day, there has been 
a continual firing of musquets in token of rejoicing; 
and, in the court-yard and on the roof of the house 
of one of the parties, I can see from my window a 
constant throng of guests, who occasionally set up 
a joyous cry : yet this is not a rich family. An 
almost ruinous hospitality is sometimes kept up on 
these occasions. 

My host's fourth son, a youth of seventeen years 
of age, loiters into my room, wondering how I can 
bear to be alone ; supposing my head must ache, or 
that I shall certainly fall asleep unless he comes to 
talk with me. I desired him to sit down, and read 
aloud the Third Chapter to the Romans ; and then 
I explained to him its contents, as well as I was 
able, in his native tongue. 

In the evening I attended one of the marriages. 
Three Priests assisted in performing it. A multi- 
tude of men and boys set off with lights in their 
hands, an hour after sun-set, from the house, of the 
bridegroom (leaving the bridegroom in his father's 
house) to that of the bride. After waiting nearly 
half-an-hour, the bride came out, attended by her 
female friends, and the procession began ; the men 
going first, and after them the women with the bride 



OB JOURNAL. 

in their front. On their coming near the Church, 
they halted, while the bridegroom proceeded first 
into the Church with his father and companions 
(in number certainly more than thirty : see Judges 
xiv. 10, 11.) to be ready to receive his bride. After 
this, the bride and her party entered by the door 
and apartment belonging to the women. Both then 
stood together in the middle of the Church before a 
lighted desk, the bride being covered. An inces- 
sant noise and tumult, which no authority of the 
Priests could appease, prevailed throughout the 
ceremony, which lasted near half-an-hour. The 
whole being ended, the friend of the bridegroom, 
standing behind him, lifted him up in his hands like 
a child; shouting, at the same time, for joy. This 
practical joke, however, as well as the tumult, was 
a mark that the parties were of the lower rank. 
The bridegroom was only fifteen years of age. 

Monday, Oct. 6, 1823 — We observed this day in 
special reference to the custom of general prayer for 
the more abundant influences of the Holy Spirit. 

In the afternoon, three Jewish Females entered 
the house, to pay a visit to the mistress. They 
were strangers, but were politely treated with sher- 
bet. I observed my preceptor, Hanna, watching 
them attentively ; and, expressing my wish to call 
on the Jewish Families here, he would have dis- 
suaded me. " In this place," said he, " the Jews 
are looked upon very badly." " And in what part 
of the world," I asked, " are they not so? Now, 
as we expect all men to love one another, we must 
expect Christians and Jews to do so : but which is 
to make the first move? which has the strongest 
obligation to love the other? — which is commanded 



DEIR. EL KAMR. 89 

to do so?" He promptly and ingenuously answered, 
" Christians." 

He informs me that there are about thirty Jewish 
Families in Deir el Kamr. 

Wednesday, Oct. 8 — This evening the season 
broke. Thunder and lightning and rain came from 
the west. The romantic valley of Deir el Kamr, 
and the high ranges of Lebanon, were clothed with 
mantles of thick mist ; and the whole prospect be- 
came dreary and cheerless. 

In the morning of this day — not an hour too soon 
— the master of the house had lain in a stock of 
earth ; which was carried up, and spread evenly on 
the roof of the house, which is flat. The whole 
roof is thus formed of mere earth, laid on and rolled 
hard and flat: not, as in Malta, of a composition*, 
which is smooth and impenetrable, and thus re- 
ceives the rain-water and carries it off into the 
tanks under the house. There is no want of flow- 
ing water in this mountainous country, as there is 
in Malta. On the top of every house is a large 
stone roller, for the purpose of hardening and flat- 
tening this layer of rude soil, so that the rain may 
not penetrate : but, upon this surface, as may be 
supposed, grass and weeds grow freely. It is to 
such grass that the Psalmist alludes, as useless and 
bad — Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, 
which withereth afore it groweth up. (Ps. cxxix. 6.) 
In reference to the conclusion of that Psalm, I may 
add, that nothing could better express the con- 
temptuous neglect which David there describes as 
falling on the wicked — Neither do they which go by 

* In Beirout, and many other places, the flat roof consists of a 
hard cement, although not so good as that which is used in Malta. 



90 JOURNAL. 

say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you : ive bless 
you in the name of the Lord. 

This is, indeed, the land of good-wishes and over- 
flowing compliments. Every passer-by has his 
44 Alia ybarakek" — 44 God bless you!" Conversation 
is sometimes among strangers made up of a very 
large proportion of these phrases : for example — 
44 Good morning." Answer, 44 May your day be 
enriched!" — 4t By seeing you." 44 You have enlight- 
ened the house by your presence." — " Are you 
happy?" 44 Happy; and you also?" — 44 Happy." 
44 You are comfortable, I am comfortable ;" mean- 
ing, 44 I am comfortable, if you are." These sen- 
tences are often repeated ; and, after any pause, it is 
usual to turn to your neighbour, and resume these 
courtesies many times. In Egypt, the Christian 
Salutation is 44 tSalamdt:" among Mahomedans, 
everywhere, it is 44 Saldm;" but this is not allowed 
among Christians. In the Southern half of Pales- 
tine, I subsequently found the ordinary salutation, 
between persons on the road, to be, 44 Oivafy;" 
literally, 44 Good luck:" to which the person sa- 
luted, replies, 44 Allayqfik" that is, 44 May God give 
you good luck!" 

They have a remarkable way in this country of 
paying honour to the first-born son. Both the pa- 
rents take their name from his. Thus the master 
of the house here is called Abu Michael, Father-of- 
Michael, because his eldest son was baptized by 
the name of Michael. The servant has a son named 
Suleyman ; and her name consequently has become 
Om-Suleyman, i.e. Mother-of-Suleyman. The prac- 
tice is universal in this country. 

Thursday, Oct. S, 1823 — Stormy weather con- 



DEIIl EL K AMR. 91 

tinues: we are quite confined to the house; which, 
as there are no glass-windows, is very uncomfortable. 
We are obliged to shut up the lattices with the 
wooden shutters, and sit almost in the dark. I 
asked the family how they manage in the long dreary 
weather of winter : they replied, that they entirely 
shut up the rooms, and use lamps in the day-time. 
This, three months afterward, I found to be the only 
method, living whole days by candle-light. 

In the evening, the family meet to smoke — talk — 
hear some new thing, or some old thing — yawn — 
and retire to bed. From half-past-six o'clock at 
the present season (at which hour they, in five 
minutes, swallow their supper), to half-past- eight, 
this is their habit. Several.evenings they have read 
the Arabian Nights' Entertainments ; and they seem 
marvellously amused with the gross fabrications 
contained in that book : the greater the falsehood, 
the greater seems their diversion. They are yet 
children. In understanding be men, would be a 
text lost on them. This evening I explained the 
method of calculating the distance of a thunder- 
cloud from the interval between the flash and the 
sound, a problem of the simplest nature, which I 
have known ever since I was a boy : though I hap- 
pened to have a good interpreter, so that I am sure 
the whole was sufficiently explained ; and though I 
expected that the tempest about our ears would 
render it the more interesting, yet it excited 
scarcely any attention, and probably was not under- 
stood, or possibly not believed. 

Friday, Oct. 10 — I had to witness to-day one 
of those painful scenes of the undue influence of 
Ecclesiastical Rule, which they only can enter into, 



92 JOURNAL. 

who have seen, in countries like our own, Christian 
Liberty blessed with its proper fruits. Conversing 
with my Arabic Reader, I said, " Mr. King and 
myself wish to sell as many of the Scriptures as we 
can." Copies, for this purpose, were in the house. 
He said he was aware of this ; but that the sale of 
them had been prohibited by the Pope. 44 In this 
country," said he, 44 whatever the Pope tells us, we 
do." 44 But," I said, 44 God commands men to 
read the Sacred Scriptures." 44 I know that," he 
replied ; 44 and I cannot comprehend why the Pope 
should forbid it — especially as the book is the same 
Version as ours, and so very cheap : perhaps it is 
that these Holy Books may not be torne or dirtied 
by children — they are therefore kept in churches." 
44 But," said I, " in this family, there is your father : 
you are five brethren : thus there are six who know 
how to take care of a book ; and, in some families, 
there are no children, or they are grown up." 
" True," he answered ; 4 4 but the people at large 
are taught to refuse them." 44 Well," I said, " God 
has given us the sun : if Satan put up his hand be- 
fore it to turn the day into night, would you not 
think it an act worthy of Satan?" He readily ac- 
knowledged this. I bid him apply the comparison 
to all who would prohibit the reading of the Sacred 
Scriptures. I added — 44 While you remain willingly 
under this yoke of ignorance, do you not feel as if 
you deserved to remain under the Turkish Yoke ?" 

In the evening, my host mentioned to one of the 
Priests who was visiting, that I should go to Jeru- 
salem. I began to talk with them of Christ Cruci- 
fied. The Priest, a very aged man, began to talk 
of the Cross. My host asked where the Cross was : 



DEIR EL KAMK. 93 

the Priest told a very long story about its disco- 
very — its being transported to Constantinople, &c. 
" Bat," I said, " this Cross was wood : our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who suffered upon it, is yet alive in 
heaven, near to every one of us : He can give life 
to our hearts." The Priest looked half- amazed. 
My host further explained my meaning aloud. " He 
says" — quoting me — " that that Cross, which the 
Empress Helen found, was wood." " Yes," said 
the Priest, " but holy wood." I again began my 
remarks ; to which, however, no further notice was 
paid. That line of a Hymn came into my mind : 

" Christ, and his Cross, is all our theme f 

— now in what manner would this poor Priest have 
taken up this theme ? He would probably have told 
his congregation a long story about the Empress 
Helen, interwoven with many miraculous circum- 
stances ; and the Service would have concluded 
with the people's thronging to kiss a piece of the 
holy wood of the true Cross ! May the Missionaries 
of the West bring these people out of their darkness, 
by truly preaching Christ and him crucified ! 

Saturday, Oct. 11, 1823 — The stormy weather has 
ceased. I am informed, that, in Deir el Kamr, 
about one-third of the population are Greek Ca- 
tholics, one-third Maronites, and one-third Druses. 
The difference between Greek Catholics (or, as they 
call themselves, Melchites,) and Maronites, is, that 
the Greek Catholics use Arabic and Greek in their 
Services ; but the Maronites, Syriac and Carshun. 
Both acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope. 
The Maronites appear to be the genuine natives of 
Mount Lebanon — the Greeks, whether of the Qri- 



94 JOURNAL. 

ental Church or converts to the Papacy, appear 
to be descendants of the Greek Empire. There 
may be, one tells me, about one hundred of the 
Oriental Greeks (not Romanists, but those called 
the Orthodox,) in the Mountains : but not more. In 
Damascus, they are numerous ; and have a Patri- 
arch, entitled Patriarch of Antioch. In Aleppo, 
Beirout, Saide, and Sour, there are many : but, in 
the Mountains, the Papal Interest is dominant, and 
has excluded them. 

The Melchite Priests of Deir el Kamr are fur- 
nished from a very large Convent not far distant, 
called Deir el Mhalles ; where is a Bishop, who 
has visited Italy. The College for Syriac or Carshun 
is at Ain el Warka. 

There are two Melchite and two Maronite 
Churches in Deir el Kamr. 

The origin of the title Deir el Kamr was related 
to me thus. There was once a Convent here, de- 
dicated to the Virgin Mary. To her the words in 
Canticles vi. 10— fair as the moon — are often ap- 
plied ; and her picture may frequently be seen 
painted as a countenance on a full moon. This 
Convent, having such a picture, obtained the name 
of Deir el Kamr, or " Convent of the Moon;" an 
abbreviation of " Convent of our Lady, fair as the 
Moon." Since that period, the town has gradually 
been built here, and bears the same name. 

May not these things remind us of the inventions 
of the Israelites of old, in this land ? (Jer. xliv. 17) 
We ivill certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth 
out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the Queen 
of Heaven — a title given now to the Virgin Mary. 
In fact, Christianity in these countries, with all its 



DEIR EL KAMR. 95 

corruptions and imagery, seems not like a new and 
distinct religion, incompatible with the old Heathen 
Superstitions; but as something which easily accom- 
modated itself to them, and soon became wrought 
up together ; not a new plant, sprung up from wholly 
a right seed. This is not the Christianity of Christ 
and His Apostles. 

Sunday, Oct. 12, 1823 — I have in view two of the 
houses where, last Sunday, marriages took place. 
The court-yards, and the tops of the houses, are 
again crowded with guests. The expression, That 
preach ye upon the house-tops — appears nothing un- 
natural to those who daily see these houses. They 
are low and flat, and flat-roofed ; and would give 
an opportunity to speak to many on the house, and 
many in the court-yard below. The continuance 
of the feasting illustrates Judges xiv. 12. 

Monday, Oct. 13 — This evening I had some 
conversation with Asaph, the servant, about prayer. 
He asked me why I went to bed so early. I said, 
I did not go to sleep : but I wished to have some 
time to read, meditate, and pray. He asked me 
why I did not pray in the sitting-room below. There 
happened to be a dispute at that very moment going 
on. I answered, " Many of you repeat your prayers 
in company : I can see your lips going ; but the 
heart needs quiet and silence. Our Saviour said, 
Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet ; and 
when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret. (Matt. vi. 6.) Asaph speaks a 
very vulgar Arabic, and so quick that I can with 
difficulty understand him. My hope is, that, when 
I speak about Religion to these people, though I 



90 JOURNAL. 

cannot perfectly understand them, they may com- 
petently understand me. 

There are two branches of language which are 
comparatively little learned, that is, little exercised, 
by persons who may nevertheless attain the reputa- 
tion of being great linguists : these are, the speak- 
ing of a language, and the hearing of it spoken so 
as to understand it. Of these two, the hearing with 
intelligence is, beyond all comparison, the most 
difficult ; while both of them are, to Missionaries, 
essential and indispensable acquisitions. 

RETURN TO BEIROUT. 

Wednesday, Oct, 15, 1823 — Having been unwell 
since the rains began, and fearing to be worse, I set 
off for Beirout this morning. When I had been on 
my journey about half-an-hour, the sun rose, in the 
midst of the most majestic clouds, above the high 
range of Lebanon. The view of the Palace of 
Ebtedin was peculiarly noble. But how melan- 
choly are these grand and lovely prospects ren- 
dered by reflections on the state of man — the Being 
who is creeping upon the surface of that earth, 
which God has so beautifully formed, and which at 
this early hour He every day so gloriously illumi- 
nates ! How are our feelings of rapture checked, 
when, on viewing a lovely scene, we remember that 
it is the residence of a man-of-blood ! The more 
I know of the people of the East, the greater is 
the value which I see stamped upon the labours of 
Missionary Societies. 

At Ainep, where we again halted before noon to 
refresh ourselves, there was a great mourning. 



BEIROUT— -SPLENDID DRESSES. 97 

About thirty Sheiks sat assembled in a wide circle 
near the khan ; and thence proceeded up the hill, 
to assist in the burying of some great man, one of 
the Druses. One of the company, a most vene- 
rable figure with a snowy beard, stood up for 
some minutes, and harangued the assembly, with 
apparently much dignified emotion. He seemed to 
me the very picture of Abraham communing with the 
Children of Heth. I was particularly struck to ob- 
serve, that, though of these Sheiks the greater part 
consisted of Druses, known by their broad-striped 
dress, yet there were many Christians, who joined 
in the funeral procession. The house of mourning 
seems, in every country, to be, in some measure, 
consecrated to the spirit of amity : there, religious 
antipathies are at least suspended, if not extin- 
guished ; and persons, who would not have thought 
of meeting in the same Church, yet willingly assem- 
ble over one and the same grave. 

On my arrival at Beirout, I was soon joined by 
Mr. Wolff ; with whom I spent, during this week, 
several profitable hours ; conferring with him, as I 
afterward did with the other Missionaries, on a 
Tract which I am continually preparing relative to 
the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these latter 
days. 

FASHION OF SPLENDID DRESSES. 

Whatever other fashions may have changed in the 
East — and yet we may truly believe that very few 
have varied — there is one still stationary, the sight 
of which carries us back, to the remotest Scrip- 
ture Antiquity: I mean the fashion of splendid 
dresses. I had a full specimen of it this evening, 

H 



90 JOURNAL. 

in the lady of the house. She produced, from her 
wardrobe, at least ten heavy outer garments, coats of 
many colours, embroidered and spangled with gold 
and silver and flowers. I was weary with her shew- 
ing them, at which she seemed surprised. There 
are some of them as old as the date of her marriage, 
some still older. They are only worne on great fes- 
tivals, as Christinas, Easter, &c. when she sits in 
state to receive her friends, and hands coffee and a 
pipe to them. It is whimsical, however, to see how 
her splendid dresses are contrasted with her humble 
daily occupations : for, in the ordinary duties of the 
house, she is to be found sweeping out the kitchen, 
boiling the pot, &c. ; and she eats her meals when her 
husband and his friends have finished, sitting on the 
ground with her children and servants at the par- 
lour-door : and such, generally, is the condition of 
females in Eastern Countries. She wears an infinity 
of braids, which hang down all the length of her 
back, and terminate in gold sequins ; which, toge- 
ther with those that she w ears on her head, may be 
worth from five to ten pounds sterling. The advice 
of St. Peter is quite forgotten in this land. The 
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit appears to be veiy 
little known ; but the adorning of plaiting the hair, 
and of wearing of gold, and putting-on of apparel, 
is most studiously retained. In fact, none can go to 
greater excess, in this particular, than the Bishops 
and Clergy themselves ; who, on all high festivals, 
are decked in such gorgeous and almost effeminate 
robes, as must necessarily lead the fashion, and tend 
to annihilate the simplicity which becomes Chris- 
tians. 

I have often, in my dealings with the people of 



M0NSEIGNI0R GANDOLFI. 99 

this country, felt that a most apt motto for them, as 
serving to remind them of two duties in which they 
chiefly fail, would be, " love the truth and 
peace." There are no faults which so constantly 
harass our spirits here, as Falsehood and Voci- 
feration. 

GANDOLFT, THE POPE'S APOSTOLTC VICAR. 

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1823— The Pope's Apostolic 
Vicar, MonseigniorGandolfi, whose residence atAn- 
toura has been before noticed, being at present in 
Beirout, I waited on him with our Consul. The re- 
mark made with respect to many of the Latins in 
this country, that such or such an one is no bigot, 
carries with it a very partial satisfaction to those who 
desire to see an Ecclesiastic well acquainted with 
what the Truth is, and sincerely and ardently at- 
tached to the Truth, and zealous in its propagation. 

The conversation of MonseigniorGandolfi was that 
of an acute, polite, and social person, who knows 
the world. He is now about seventy years of age; 
and came to his present situation before the breaking 
out of the French Revolution. As Representative 
of the Pope, he is properly the organ of communica- 
tion to the Churches of Syria upon subjects of Dog- 
matical Theology. 

His sway, in matters of Discipline, is extremely 
limited. The professing Roman Catholics among 
the natives are governed by their own respective 
Hierarchies : these, of course, keep their own affairs 
as close as may be ; and lay themselves open as sel- 
dom as possible to inspection, or interference from 
Rome. Even the Latin Friars, established in the 
various Convents from Jerusalem to Aleppo, are not 

h 2 



100 JOURNAL. 

under his jurisdiction : they have their respective 
Superiors in Syria and Palestine ; who correspond, 
each with the General of his own Order in Rome. 
When the Propaganda was in power, and still more 
when the Jesuits were in authority, the situation now 
held by Monseignior Gandolfi must have been one of 
the greatest influence. In reading the " Let Ires 
Edifiantes et Curieuses" or the Document hereafter 
given in this Volume on the subject of Education — 
a business which was much in the hands of the 
Jesuits — the magnitude of the office of Apostolic 
Legate about a hundred years ago, and previously, 
becomes very apparent. 

DRUSES. 

A principal topic of our conversation was the re- 
markable religious divisions in this country. These 
have been already recorded in the opening part of 
this Volume. The Druses, universally, are an object 
of curiosity to all residents and visitors in Syria ; 
and, consequently, they are a frequent subject of 
conversation : and yet all appear to me equally in 
the dark, as to what the Druses really are. Some 
of their peculiar customs or observances are all 
which writers or persons in the country can describe. 
One thingnoticed by Monseignior Gandolfi seemed to 
the company an inexplicable wonder in their charac- 
ter. " You shall see," he observed, " a young man 
among them, dissolute in the highest degree, given 
to every vice, and altogether unbridled ; yet, on his 
becoming initiated, in an instant his character is 
changed to sobriety, and even rigid virtue : instead 
of drinking wine freely, he drinks water only : his 
passions are curbed ; his vices seem to drop off from 



DRUSES A N TO U 11 A. 101 

him ; and he is as strict, as before he was licen- 
tious." This description struck the hearers with 
amazement; nor did they seem to know how to ac- 
count for it. Some secret principle in the religious 
theory of the Druses, was what their minds were 
evidently turning to, as the operative cause of such 
miraculous conversions. I endeavoured, therefore, 
to explain them, upon a principle which every man, 
who examines his own heart, may easily descry. 
Admitting the fact, as stated, to be true, yet it may 
be nothing more than a change from the indulgence 
of the lusts of the flesh, to the more dominant tyranny 
of the lusts of the spirit — the Daemon of Pride, ex- 
pelling the Daemon of Licentiousness. The unclean 
spirit, as our Lord describes, is gone out of the man: 
but, ere long, seven other spirits, still more wicked, 
enter in ; and take up their abode in the restless, 
unhumbled heart; and the last state of that man is 
worse than the first. All assented to this view ; but, 
with it, the conversation on this topic dropped. 

There is, however, reason to doubt how far the 
fact stated may be a matter of mere appearances. 
The Druses are said by Burckhardt to be more 
observant of outward decorum than of genuine mo- 
rality. 

RETURN TO ANTOURA. 

Saturday, Oct. 18, 1823 — Having received Letters 
from Malta, 1 went to Antoura, to make arrange- 
ments for quitting this part of the country, to go 
southward. On the road, I met Mr. King ; who 
was, with a similar purpose, going to Beirout. After 
exchanging a few words, we each pursued his des- 
tination. I arrived, by a beautiful moonlight, at the 



102 JOURNAL. 

College ; where 1 found Mr. Lewis and Mr. Fisk ; 
as also Luigi Assemanni, from Ain el Warka. 

COURSE OF STUDIES AT AIN EL WARKA. 

Sunday, Oct.\9, 1823 — Yesterday evening and this 
morning, I have had much conversation with Luigi 
Assemanni. He gave me this account of the studies 
of Ain el Warka. The age of entering the College 
is various ; .from eleven to eighteen years of age. 
The term of complete study is four years. In the 
first year, they learn the Syriac Grammar : in the 
second, they read the Book of the Church-Offices, 
both in Syriac and Arabic : in the third, they study, 
as he expressed it, Prosody ; but, on my asking his 
meaning, he said that he was not himself versed in 
this, and did not quite understand it*: in the fourth 
year, they are occupied with Moral Theology ; not 
Dogmatical. All w r ho are admitted must study with 
a view to the priesthood. 

The present Maronite Patriarch, Joseph, was of 
this College. He has been elected but a few months : 
he adds Peter to his name, as being successor of St. 
Peter in the See of Antioch. He resides at Kano- 
biu, beyond Tripoli. The young men, when they 
have taken Orders, are at the command of the Pa- 
triarchy to be sent to Damascus, or elsewhere, as he 
may choose. 

LUIGI ASSEMANNI. 

I find this young man to be very feeble in health 
and spirits. I gave him much counsel : and, as he 



* Query, if this may be what is referred to in the account of the 
Course of Education, from which I have, in a subsequent page, made 
Extracts ; signifying what we should call Belles Let ties. 



LUIGI ASSEMANNI. 103 

expects one day to go to Rome again, to fill some 
office as Interpreting Secretary, I reminded him, 
that one word from him might do great good or 
great harm ; and especially cautioned him, never to 
sign his name to any thing which he knew to be un- 
christian or untrue. I gave him a sketch of the tri- 
bulations, which may be expected to fall on all those 
who uphold a system of deceit and error* ; and, in 
the contemplation of his possibly living to witness 
troublous times, gave him for a motto these words — 
"La fede vincitrice nelle tribolazioni " — "Faith 
triumphant in tribulations " — explaining that I did 
not, by " The Faith," mean any particular form 
of words, or constitution of a Church ; but a per- 
sonal, living faith, dwelling in a man's heart, work- 
ing by love, and leading him to Christ for constant 
support. 

He did not, poor youth, forget before his depar- 
ture those two words, which might v ery properly 
be taken for the motto to the armorial bearings of 
Syria — ' 6 Give, give J' We willingly administered 
to his necessities. Much could we wish that there 
were as ardent a desire for the Sacred Scriptures, 
as there is for the supply of the wants of the body ! 
God alone can put this spiritual desire into their 
hearts — a hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
ness. 

We prevailed on him to wait, and attend our 
Morning-Service, which we had somewhat earlier 
on his account. I preached in Italian. He then 
took his staff, as we could not persuade him to stay 
any longer ; and walked away, very much with the 
air of a young pilgrim. 



* 2 Thess.ii. 7—12. 



104 



J 01/ RIVAL. 



DIFFICULTY OF TRAVERSING MOUNT LEBANON. 

In the evening of this clay, looking out at my win- 
dow on the vast irregular cliffs of Mount Lebanon, 
with the Convents Deir el Shan and Ybzumar 
upon different summits far above me, and thinking 
of the toil of the next day's visit to them, the anima- 
ting words of Isaiah came into my mind with pecu- 
liar force. The distance of Ybzumar may be less 
than five miles, in a direct line; but, to reach it, we 
shall have to wind round the base of mountains, to 
go through the length of valleys, so as to cross them 
at their extremities, and to ascend hills by difficult 
traverses on most rugged single-footed paths, during 
four hours, chiefly with the sun upon us : and the 
same on our return. Eight hours of toil and burning 
heat, in order to have the opportunity of selling the 
Sacred Scriptures, and converse upon religion ! It 
is well: and it is delightful to think, that, while such 
mountains furnish an emblem of the spiritual diffi- 
culties and perplexities through which we have to 
wind our way, they have supplied to the Evangeli- 
cal Prophet a fine image for describing the future 
success of this w ork — Every valley shall be exalted, 
and every mountain and hill shall be made loiv ; and 
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough 
places plain : and the glory of the Lord shall be re- 
vealed, and all flesh shall see it together : for the 
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

CONVENT OF DEIH EL SHAFT. 

Monday, Oct. 20, 1 823— We set forth, Mr. Fisk and 
myself, on sure-footed asses, skilled to climb the 



CONVENT OF DEIR EL S1IAFI. 105 

mountains. The road is, for the first half of it, the 
same as that to Ain el Warka. We were overtaken 
on the way by a Maronite Bishop, who appeared to 
me more delicate than any native whom I had yet 
seen, having furnished himself with a small umbrella 
of white muslin : he just returned our salutations, 
and spurred forward, being well mounted. We 
turned off to the right, to reach the Convent of Deir 
el Shafi, situated on a fertile eminence, commanding 
a magnificent view of the sea, the town and harbour 
of Beirout, and all the intermediate country. Eight- 
teen Monasteries may be seen from it. The air is 
pure ; and, even on the hottest days, they here en- 
joy a breeze. It is pleasantly screened by groves 
of pine-trees full of sap, which rise up the side of 
the mountain in the back ground. 

The elevated site of many of these Monasteries, 
well chosen for air, retirement, and security, often 
brings to the mind that expression, O inhabitant of 
Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars ! 

In the occupants, however, of Deir el Shafi, there 
is a melancholy air of somnolency. The Patriarch, 
who visited England, Mar Gregorius Peter Giarve, 
resides here only two months in the summer, for 
coolness : the rest of the year he lives at Mar 
Ephraim, a spot more inland. We were received by 
a Bishop, who formerly was Patriarch for five years, 
and who was succeeded by Giarve. From his con- 
versation the following particulars were obtained. 
The whole Patriarchate contains one Patriarch and 
seven Bishops. Of these Bishops, two are in 
Aleppo ; one is in Mesopotamia, and another will 
be appointed there in lieu of one deceased ; mw is 
in Beirout; and there are two at this Convent, one 



10G JOURNAL. 

of whom we did not see, he being on an excursion 
in the neighbourhood. In Jerusalem they have no 
religious house ; but their Syro-Catholic Pilgrims go 
to the Latin Convent. In Cairo, they have one 
Syrian Establishment; a merchant's house, I under- 
stood him to mean. 

The upper part of this Convent was built about 
forty years ago, and appears substantial: there is a 
considerable building some few yards detached from 
it, lower down the hill, (for it is all built on the side 
of a steep acclivity,) of the date of only ten years ; 
but likely to be unserviceable, unless great expense 
is laid out upon it ; the roof being broken in some 
material parts. In this second building, we were 
informed, lies the Printing Press, with the other 
materials brought from London and Paris. 

CONVENT OF YBZUMAK. 

We proceeded, by a rough and hot road, to the 
Convent of Ybzumar. This is the residence of the 
Catholic-Armenian Patriarch, and is a noble esta- 
blishment. We were courteously received by the 
Patriarch, in the large Divan ; a more spacious and 
well-furnished room than any I have yet seen in 
Syria. The Convent has been built twenty-eight 
years : in summer, it must be delightfully cool ; but, 
standing on so high an eminence, it is visited in 
winter by tremendous thunder-storms, and enveloped 
in thick and cold mists. The wall at the end of this 
Hall in which we are sitting, bears witness, by a 
large fissure in it, to the alarms which they must 
suffer during the mountain-storms ; and they have 
not yet procured a lightning-conductor : they asked 
us questions on this subject ; and seemed chiefly 



CONVENT OF YBZUMAR. 107 

influenced by the fear, that, if such an apparatus 
were not placed properly, it might do them harm 
instead of good, by attracting the electric fluid. 
Many smatterers in philosophy visit Syria, but they 
have no confidence in them. We recommended 
them, for the safety of a building on which so much 
money has been expended, to send at once for a 
skilful man from England. The Armenians are not 
a race of men fearful of expense ; being rich, and 
closely connected with one another, in whatever 
part of the world they are to be found. 

The Patriarch has been seven years-and-a-half in 
his office. We were presently joined by one of two 
Bishops now residing in the Convent ; and by 
another Ecclesiastic, whose name I regret not to 
have noted down, a very lively and intelligent man 
of about thirty-eight years of age, aspirant to a 
Bishopric, and not unlikely to be promoted. The 
Patriarch speaks a very little Italian ; but the other 
two speak it well. The Bishop is of Aleppo, but 
has been passing much of his time here ; and blessed 
himself that he was not in that city at the time of 
the dreadful earthquake. 

Mr. Fisk had made a contract for the sale of a 
large number of Armenian New Testaments, which 
he brought with him. Of these, they greatly pre- 
ferred the Venice Edition, to that printed in Russia. 

As noon drew on, the table was spread for dinner. 
We dined alone with the Patriarch, and were cer- 
tainly never better treated than here. He seemed 
to take a particular pleasure in giving us proofs of 
the excellence of his vintage, ordering different kinds 
of wine to be brought in succession ; so that it be- 
came necessary for us to have a strict eye to the 



108 JOURNAL. 

proper limits on such an occasion. After dinner, he 
took his repose: and I also was obliged to lie down, 
being* much fatigued with the morning's ride ; but 
could take no rest, my mind being filled with the 
scene around me. In the mean time, Mr. Fisk, sur- 
rounded by the Young Men, produced his Arme- 
nian stores, the whole of which were purchased by 
them. The room in which I lay down belonged to 
one of the Students, a hopeful bright youth, who 
speaks Italian well, and who seemed gratified in 
shewing me attention. His little library was select, 
containing Armenian and Italian books; and, no 
doubt, he has an ambition to be useful. It is impos- 
sible not to desire that such an ambition may receive 
a right direction; but, for this end, a purer know- 
ledge of Truth, than we find in these regions, is 
wanted: and, indeed, the ambition itself needs to 
be supplanted, by a higher motive than, we fear, 
exists in the generality of these Students. After 
half-an-hour, I joined the company, who were all, 
under the direction of the Ecclesiastic above men- 
tioned, making their purchases. They soon after 
dispersed ; and the Ecclesiastic proceeded to take 
us over the Establishment. 

The Church is, after their manner, heavily splen- 
did. In their dining-hall is a pulpit, from which a 
portion of some book is read, while the rest are 
dining. But that which most surprised me, was 
the number of rooms for the accommodation of 
Pupils : we were told that there are about seventy. 
The Pupils, at present, are very few in number ; 
about twelve: they do not average more than 
twenty : sometimes they are as few as four or five. 
I do not well know how to account for such vari- 



ARMENIAN ECCLESIASTIC, 109 

ations, unless it be because there are two other 
Catholic -Armenian Convents not far distant, at 
Kraim and Beit Hashbo. This Ecclesiastic informs 
us that the Youths are not required to be Priests : 
consequently, this may be regarded as, in some de- 
gree, a school for their Merchants' Children ; and 
these Merchants, moving about in the extensive 
regions of the East, or residing for uncertain periods 
in the cities more or less near — as Constantinople, 
Smyrna, Erzroum — may send their children more or 
less regularly to this and similar Colleges. The 
Course of Education throws some light on the sub- 
ject. Our conductor informed us, that, on their 
plan, it would require ten years to be well educated ; 
for the complete course is to learn Ancient Arme- 
nian, Arabic, a little Philosophy, and various Euro- 
pean Languages. He is, himself, Preceptor; and 
is versed in these acquirements. Considering the 
low standard of the education of the Clergy gene- 
rally in the East — exception being made in favour 
of a few individuals among them, who have aspired 
to considerable attainments — this Course of Educa- 
tion manifestly declares itself to have been adopted 
for those who are designed to be men of the world. 
The Armenians are, in fact, an industrious, inge- 
nious, persevering race ; not at all, I have been told, 
addicted to war, but to civil pursuits ; especially as 
Bankers, in which character they rival the Jews. 

DISCUSSION WITH AN ARMENIAN ECCLESIASTIC. 

After going over the whole building, we were 
invited to visit an aged Priest, who occupies an 
apartment here. In former times, he has visited 
Rome frequently. He considers himself in the light 



110 JOURNAL. 

of a British Subject ; having made himself, at one 
time, useful to Sir Sidney Smith. 

We had here a very long conversation, on various 
points concerning the State of Religion in the East, 
and the opinions of the Western Churches. The 
Armenian Ecclesiastic took the chief part in it, the 
other Priest being very infirm. Particularly he de- 
fended the question of the Monastic Vows. I urged 
that there was no sufficient reason for them ; and 
that they were contrary to nature and the design of 
Scripture : particularly I pressed the extreme im- 
probability that the young men should be able to 
know themselves sufficiently, when they make the 
vow of celibacy. " To this end," he said, " surely 
in a probation of two years, kept under strict rule, 
they would be able to judge of their ability to con- 
tinue in the observance of that rule." " Far from 
it," I said : " their nature is not developed in so short 
a space of time : the extraneous restraints, under 
which they are placed, may give them an artificial 
opinion of themselves and of the world ; and, when 
they come into real life and its snares, two years' 
probation will be found to have done very little for 
them. And for what object, which could not as well 
be attained by them as married men?" He turned 
to St. Paul's argument in 1 Cor. vii. ; in discussing 
which, we pointed out the consideration that the 
Apostle's view applied more particularly to times of 
persecution and distress, when the office of preaching 
the Gospel might be embarrassed by the Preachers' 
having families; as well as the Converts themselves 
hindered, by the same circumstance, in their flight 
from the persecutor. We then asked, how far this 
applied to their case: he would have evaded the 



ARMENIAN ECCLESIASTIC. Ill 

question, by asking if there were not other useful 
objects to be attained by study, and seclusion, and 
celibacy : we pressed upon him, that St. Paul gives 
no other reasons for the expediency of the state of 
celibacy, than that it gives more freedom from worldly 
distraction, and thus affords more leisure for the 
active Service of God ; and now, " in what way," we 
asked, " do these Convents promote the active ser- 
vice of God ? Do the Priests here preach the Go- 
spel, at the hazard of their lives ? Is it to this, that 
their Young Men are trained ? Does their unmar- 
ried state, which would give them an opportunity of 
more easily escaping if their life were sought for, 
encourage them to stand out boldly on behalf of the 
Gospel? What, for example, is the state of the 
Convents in Mount Lebanon ? What converts are 
they in the habit of making among the Mahome- 
dans?" "Are you, then," he asked, "come to 
preach to the Mahomedans ?" I replied, " 1 will go 
with you, and preach to them :" but from this 
answer he manifestly drew back. He asked what 
ground we had for supposing that all countries 
would become Christian — expressingitas his opinion, 
that the promises of Sacred Scripture do not go to 
prove that all the world will be Christian, but that 
there will be some Christians in all countries ; a 
sufficient number to stand as witnesses of the truth, 
and examples to their Heathen or Mahomedan 
Neighbours. "Is there, then," I asked, " a suffi- 
cient number of Converts to Christianity in Mount 
Lebanon and Syria?" To this he principally an- 
swered, that he thought the call to preach the Go- 
spel applied fully to Pagan Nations ; but that, in 
these countries, nothing could be done without 



112 JOURNAL. 

Protection — that the moment any one should begin 
to preach generally, out of the line which he was 
known to occupy, he would be put down by the 
Government. Here he, at once, came to their mag- 
num gravamen. We dwelt on the obstacles opposed 
to the first entrance of Christianity, and its trium- 
phant success in spite of them; endeavouring to shew 
how much we all need the revival of the faith and 
zeal of the primitive times. The expression was 
used by me, incidentally, that they needed New 
Opinions — at which they started : I immediately 
explained, pointing to a Bible on the shelf, that 
that Book contained all my opinions ; and that 
what I meant to express, was, new feeling of the 
opinions there laid down for Christians. Mr. Fisk 
emphatically added, " A new heart !" 

The two Priests, in conclusion, asked me, whether 
there were many in England who thought on this 
subject as I had expressed myself. Remembering 
the scenes which I had witnessed at the Anniver- 
saries of the different Religious Societies in May 
1821, I ventured to say, that w r e have both Bishops 
and Noblemen, as well as many others of the 
Nation, who earnestly desire to see the preaching 
of the pure Gospel in the Turkish Empire. I am 
not sure that his question was not intended to elicit 
a feeling of sympathy for their political circum- 
stances. I limited my answer to the religious view 
of the question. 

They, likewise, inquired whether our Religious 
Societies would encourage their Young Men in their 
studies, and give them help, if they went to England. 
To this, considering the sense in which the question 
was put, I did not give any very encouraging reply. 



Indeed I am more than ever convinced, that, 
although it would be less gratifying to our feelings 
to teach them in their own native soil, than to invite 
them to ours ; yet more good incomparably will be 
done, by one faithful Missionary's going among 
them, than by a plan for receiving twenty or any 
number of them among ourselves. Should any of 
them visit England, mere courtesy will lead them to 
accommodate themselves, as far as possible, to our 
habits : but, should they change their manners in 
their own land, the change may be more fairly set 
down to the account of real conversion of heart. 
And is not this change more likely to be effected 
by the example and instructions of one pious and 
zealous man stationed among them, than by their 
viewing us ' ' en masse," and acquiring what at best 
might be only a general good impression in favour 
of our national character ? 

RETURN TO ANTOUUA. 

At the close of this conversation we prepared to 
depart. The first part of our ride was as hot as it 
had been in the morning; but, during the latter 
part of it, we enjoyed the coolness of evening, and 
the descent of the dew after sun-set upon the fra- 
grant herbs — the smell of Lebanon (Canticles iv. 11.) 
It is not, indeed, very easy to converse in these 
single parties, where one follows another : but, 
although conversation cannot thus be rapid, or 
among several persons at once, yet when it is 
between two individuals it assumes a much more 
meditative cast. In this manner, wearied with the 
day, but refreshed by the last half-hour, we reached 
Antoura. 

i 



114 JOURNAL. 

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 1823— The early part of the 
morning' was engaged in preparing finally to quit 
Antoura, where I had been so kindly welcomed by 
Mr. Lewis ; and where, with the rest of the Mis- 
sionary Brethren, I had unexpectedly derived, from 
our united prayers and conversations, a greater 
measure of spiritual edification, than, in my former 
solitary travels, I had ever had the opportunity to 
enjoy. After we had breakfasted, the Latin Friar 
of Hareesa, Padre Carlo, came in from Beirout : 
to him I gave an Italian Testament. The number 
of rooms in his Convent he states at thirty, now 
occupied by himself alone. 

CONVENT OF MAR MICHAEL. 

On quitting Antoura, I proceeded to the Convent 
of Mar Michael, about three-quarters-of-an-hour 
distant ; where dwells Ignatius, the Catholic- Greek 
Patriarch. He is a very infirm old man, blind and 
bed-ridden. About fifteen or twenty Priests are in 
the Convent ; and, at a small room near the en- 
trance, is a School, where I noted about fifteen boys 
noisily saying their lessons to the Master. The Ser- 
vice of these Greek Catholics is chiefly in Arabic ; 
with a few Doxologies in Greek. They call them- 
selves Melchites. The aspect of this establishment 
was very far from comfortable or clean ; and the 
Ecclesiastics whom we saw had a very indolent 
appearance. 

RETURN TO BEIROUT. 

I reached Beirout in the afternoon. Here I found 
Mr. King, and learned that Mr. Wolff had set off 
for Damascus. 



BEIROUT. , 115 

Wednesday, Oct. 22 — This afternoon Mr. Fisk 
arrived from Antoura. We remained in Beirout a 
week : during which many copies of the Sacred 
Scriptures were sold, while we also made our ar- 
rangements for departing for Jerusalem; Mr. Fisk 
having kindly consented to be my companion on 
this journey. 

Saturday, Oct, 25 — This evening Mr. Lewis also 
arrived from Antoura, with the intention of making 
a tour of some length to Damascus, and from 
thence to Jerusalem. I had, also, this evening an? 
interview with the Greek Procurator, who acts for 
the Greek Bishop of Beirout, of the Orthodox Ori- 
ental Church. We wished to sell the Greek Sacred 
Scriptures to him; but he complains of the great 
distresses which have fallen upon his nation since 
the Revolution. The Bishop has retired from the 
city to the mountains : the people are scattered ; 
and are in continual alarm. 

The Procurator reads Ancient Greek very well : 
his Uncle was a Greek Bishop ; and, perceiving in 
him a turn for study, educated him. How many 
of this people are now continually being sacrificed 
— men who have made a far greater progress, than 
any others of the East, in useful knowledge ! — men 
truly distinguished for having blended commercial 
and literary enterprise ! Were they to be exter- 
minated, the Levant would be thrown back some 
ages into barbarism, and the instrumentality of 
learning in the propagation of Christianity nearly 
lost. And yet if the sword has a charge against 
these countries, to destroy the accumulated errors 
and superstitions of so many ages — corruptions 
which seem likely to yield to no other discipline — it 

I 2 



110 JOURNAL. 

may yet be long, very long, ere that sword be 
quiet. 

Sunday, Oct. 26, 1823 — This morning, notice hav- 
ing been previously given to the Frank Consuls and 
Residents in Beirout, that there would be Divine 
Service in Italian at the British Consul's- Garden- 
house, we assembled to the number of twenty. Mr. 
Fisk read portions of the Sacred Scripture, and 
prayed ; after which I preached from Matthew 
xviii. 20. Where two or three are gathered together 
in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 

SOME ACCOUNT OF BEIROUT. 

The following day closed my residence, for the 
present, in Mount Lebanon. 

In order to give, at one view, the whole of my 
observations in this part of the country, in this place 
may very properly be subjoined the few additional 
remarks which I made on my return hither at the 
close of the year. 

The population of Beirout I endeavoured to esti- 
mate as nearly as possible, by the enumeration of 
houses. Within the walls of the city, there may 
be about three thousand souls. Without the walls, 
to a distance of half-a-mile in various directions, 
are many country houses, some of which consist 
of but one or two rooms : yet such a dwelling 
often suffices for the residence of a whole rustic 
family. In summer, they scarcely seem to need the 
covering of a house; and, in winter* their only plan 
to keep themselves warm is, to crowd many into a 
small space. These country-houses I as nearly as 
possible counted : they may be in number about 



15 EI ROUT. 117 

three hundred ; and probably contain a population 
of two thousand souls. Thus the whole of Beirout 
would give a population of five thousand. The 
houses in the city are excedingly close, dirty, and 
ruinous ; and the streets very offensive. 

Besides the English Consul, there are Vice-Con- 
suls, or Agents, representing the French, Austrian, 
Russian, Neapolitan, and Prussian Governments. 

They have a curious method of tanning leather 
here, making every passenger contribute to the 
operation. The skins of animals are first stretched, 
and then laid flat upon the bare ground or rude 
pavement. Thus the rain, the mire, and the feet of 
the passenger, of the camel, of the horse, and of the 
ass, all contribute to cure them. It becomes neces- 
sary to step with caution; and, indeed, notwith- 
standing the utmost care, a few slips, and even falls, 
are the consequence of this public nuisance. After 
this seasoning, the skin becomes a rude kind of 
leather, fit for ordinary uses. 

The houses in the suburbs are, in general, more 
slightly built, than those in the city. In summer, 
the inconvenience of this is not felt ; and their airi- 
ness is extremely grateful. I occupied a room, the 
dimensions of which were about ten feet by seven, 
and which had six windows, and was entered by a 
trap-door. In winter, however, I found, by bitter 
experience, how much these flimsy structures must 
contribute to fever, ague, and rheumatism. Being 
constructed of only one thickness of stone, and that 
of a very porous quality, and very thinly if at all 
stuccoed within, they absorb the moisture greatly. 
When the heavy rains from the south set in, the 
whole of the south side of the house in which we 



110 JOURNAL. 

were living' became, in the course of three tempes- 
tuous days, soaked through, like a sheet of blotting- 
paper. 

STATE OF THE WINDS AT B EI ROUT. 

In this country, the same general rule holds, as 
was declared more than three thousand years ago — 
The north wind driveth aivay rain (Pro v. xxv. 23). 
Tempestuous weather, on the contrary, is from the 
south and west. The south-west wind seems here 
to have the same effect, as, in Malta, the south- 
east ; so well known to every resident in the Medi- 
terranean by the name of the Sciroc Wind. Whe- 
ther it may be that the African Continent mainly 
contributes to this hazy and dispiriting wind, and 
therefore in Syria it comes from a direction west- 
ward of south, is doubtful ; for there seems good 
reason to expect a similar effect from the Deserts of 
Arabia, which are to the south-east : but it is most 
probable, that Beirout and the whole of this line of 
coast is screened from such a quality of south-east 
wind by the high range of Lebanon, now (January 
1824) covered with snow. And thus the direction 
of the Sciroc influence veers a few points, coming 
from south, and even south-west. It has here pre- 
cisely the same effect as in Malta, moistening and 
softening every thing, rendering the spirits languid, 
and detecting every weak point in the body. I am 
now speaking of its operation in the winter months. 
I do not remember to have noticed it in autumn. 

STATE OF THE CHRISTIANS OF BEIROUT. 

During the former part of my residence of fifty 
days, from December 2 2d, to the following Fe- 



BEIROUT. 119 

bruary 9th, in Beirout, which was spent in the house 
of the friendly American Missionaries, we had a 
visit of many days from HannaDoomani, from Deir 
el Kamr. It was our daily practice to read the 
Arabic Scriptures in the family circle. In the even- 
ing, frequently, some neighbours would drop in ; 
and, on what we read, much interesting conversa- 
tion ensued. Yet it was affecting to see among pro- 
fessing Christians, who were otherwise intelligent 
enough, a great deal of ignorance on most essential 
points of Christian Theology. Sometimes, the pre- 
vailing superstitions of the country fell under the 
censure of the passage which we read ; or these 
Native Christians, of their own accord, brought 
them into discussion. It was not always easy to 
keep them calm, for they disputed against one an- 
other. The only method which ever succeeded, 
and indeed it would be difficult to find any other 
which would succeed, was to bring them round 
again to Scripture. 

One of our visitors was Father Simeon, an aged 
Maronite Priest, who lived in a neighbouring house. 
His account of the state of the Christians in this 
place was, that there are about a hundred families 
of Maronites in Beirout ; of whom thirty or forty 
reside in the city, and the remainder in the country- 
houses without the walls : for these, there are four 
Priests, three of whom (himself being one of them) 
are married : one lives in the city ; the rest in the 
suburbs. He has three sons and one daughter : this 
last is entered at the Nunnery at Antoura. This 
Priest was, for many days, very friendly — read in 
the Sacred Scriptures with us — and received copies 
for the purpose of selling them 5 but a painful cir- 



120 JOURNAL. 

cumstance, at length, interrupted the distribution of 
these books, although not his friendliness. 

This was an Order which was read, under the 
authority of the Maronite Patriarch, on the 6th of 
January, prohibiting his flock from purchasing or 
using the Arabic Bibles or Testaments printed in 
London. This has embarrassed the Priest, and 
many others; who are favourable, in the main, to 
the distribution of the Sacred Scriptures: and, for 
a season, it may retard their circulation; only, how- 
ever, for a season. It seemed to me not a little re- 
markable, that the festival, on which this Patriarchal 
Order was appointed to be read in the Churches, 
should be that which celebrates in their Church, as 
in ours, the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. 

What connection there may have been between 
this public order and a visit which we had the next 
day, I know not ; but, in the afternoon of January 
the 7th, three Maronites, one of them a youth, 
came and sat in the court of the house two hours ; 
the chief part of which time they spent in reading 
aloud to themselves, all together — one in the Arabic 
Old Testament, the other in the New Testament, 
and the boy in the Psalter. They came several 
times afterward, being neighbours; and, in this 
way, neighbours often are willing to come. They 
said that they possessed the Testament at home : 
the entire Bible they occasionally begged leave to 
borrow for an evening. 

MANNER OF HEADING IN SYRIA. 

Their way of reading aloud brings to my mind 
some remarks which I have often made on the cus- 



FRANK ROMAN-CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 121 

toms of the Levant. Generally speaking, people in 
these countries seem not to understand a book, till 
they have made it vocal. They usually go on reading 
aloud, with a kind of singing voice ; moving their 
heads and bodies in time, and making a monotonous 
cadence at regular intervals — thus giving emphasis; 
although not such an emphasis, pliant to the sense, 
as would please an English ear. Very often they 
seem to read without perceiving the sense ; and to 
be pleased with themselves, merely because they 
can go through the mechanical act of reading in any 
way. They run over a full period, as if they had no 
perception of it ; and stop in the middle of a sen- 
tence, wherever they may happen to want to take 
breath. On one occasion, when I was shewing some 
persons from an English Book how we read, inarti- 
ficially and naturally, they laughed, and said, " You 
are not reading : you are talking." I might retort 
upon an Oriental Reader — 4 6 You are not reading; 
you are chaunting." I can very well understand how 
it was that Philip should hear at what passage in 
Isaiah the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading, before he 
was invited to come up and sit with him in the cha- 
riot (Acts viii. 30, 31.) The Eunuch, though pro- 
bably reading to himself, and not particularly de- 
signing to be heard by his attendants, would read 
loud enough to be understood by a person at some 
distance. 

FRANK ROMA M-CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 

It may be well here to notice, in detail, the state 
of the Roman-Catholic Missions from Europe. 
Beirout, Jerusalem, and Aleppo appear to be the 



122 JOURNAL. 

central stations, with which the Latin Convents cor- 
respond. The Superior in Beirout is of the Fran- 
ciscan Order ; and has under him, Beirout, Saide, 
Hareesa, Abiene, Selimi, and one of the two Convents 
at Damascus ; with one or two more in Mount Le- 
banon, the names of which I have not correctly 
taken down : on subjects of Religion, they refer di- 
rectly to Rome ; but, for Civil protection, look to 
the French Consuls. The Convent in Jerusalem has 
under its jurisdiction Bethlehem, Nazareth, Ramla, 
Acre, and the other of the two Frank Convents at 
Damascus : these, also, on Religious subjects cor- 
respond directly with Rome ; but, for Civil matters, 
are under Spanish protection. There is also a Latin 
establishment in Cyprus. At Aleppo, I was in- 
formed, are four Frank Convents, belonging to as 
many different Orders, viz. Franciscans, Capuchins, 
Carmelites, and Jesuits : these last — the Order of 
Jesuits having, at its dissolution, changed its title to 
that of Lazzarists — are under the immediate cogni- 
sance of Monseignior Gandolfi. 

DECAYED STATE OF THESE MISSIONS. 

Although it is somewhat an anticipation of re- 
marks subsequently made in various parts of the 
Holy Land, I cannot forbear noticing, in this place, 
the surprising decay of Missionary Spirit and Learn- 
ing in these Establishments. 

I met with one of the Latin Friars, who has re- 
sided between twenty and thirty years in these coun- 
tries, and yet knows only sufficient of Arabic to 
converse on common topics, but can neither read 
nor write the language ; and this, more or less, is 
the actual state of nearly all. 



FRANK ROM AN- CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 128 

But that which is to be noticed with the greatest 
concern, is the spirit of worldliness, and even of 
infidelity, manifested by some of them. They some- 
times also speak so freely against their own Church, 
that I have instantly checked myself with the thought 
— "What encouragement can we have given to 
them to speak thus ? Indifference to the Religion 
which they profess is surely at least as blameable as 
bigotry." They appear to be far less supported 
than formerly by the countries which they have left; 
and yet not much attached to the foreign country in 
which they reside — occupying Convents, built in 
other times and by men of a different stamp. 

How many temptations to sloth, trifling, and sin, 
does this Monastic System furnish ! In the per- 
formance of their multiplied rites, it is to be feared, 
the mind can enjoy very little pure and heavenly 
delight : from the genial influence of friendly and 
social prayer they are in a manner debarred ; for 
every thing must be done by rule and form, and 
according to book : the office of preaching not being 
practised by them, or at the most very rarely, they 
are deprived of that powerful impulse to cultivate 
habits of furnishing and improving their minds, and 
of cherishing and pouring forth their best affections 
toward all around them. On those festivals which 
lead them more peculiarly into contact with the 
Frank Residents of the principal towns, an easy 
convivial temper is found to be a greater recom- 
mendation, than spirituality of mind and conversa- 
tion. The holy rest of the Sabbath is, moreover, 
universally profaned to purposes of visiting, and 
amusements of every description. If to all this it 
be added, that the spirit of Infidelity, in its gradual 



124 JOURNAL. 

course from the West and South of Europe into the 
Levant, finds not much purity of manners to dis- 
countenance or power of learning to refute it, we 
shall have a tolerably complete picture of the melan- 
choly condition of this region. 

The decay of the Romish Missions is certainly 
opening the way for the labours of Protestant Chris- 
tians : but how loudly does it teach the Members of 
all our rising Institutions to fear, lest they, in their 
turn, should become secular, corrupt, and ineffi- 
cient! It is, indeed, a solemn call upon us, to look 
well to our motives and our measures — to endeavour 
to approve ourselves in all tilings as the Ministers of 
God ; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, 
by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 
by the Word of Truth, by the power of God, by the 
armour of righteousness on the right-hand and on the 
left. 

DEPARTURE FROM BEIROUT FOR JERUSALEM. 

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 1823— After having furnished 
ourselves with a supply of the Scriptures to distribute 
on our way to Jerusalem, four heavy boxes of them 
having been sent forward by sea to Acre, Mr. Fisk 
and myself took our departure from Beirout this 
morning. Our road lay over the hills south of 
Beirout, which, running to the westward, form a 
promontory by which this part of the coast is dis- 
tinguished by mariners, as their guide to the harbour 
of Beirout. Our passage over these hills, which are 
of red-coloured sand, was to me very oppressive; 
and, as soon as we reached a small miserable khan 
on the sea coast, I gladly threw myself down to rest 
while some provisions were prepared. 



NABVOONAS — SAIDE. 125 
NABYOONAS. 

We then coasted all the way to Nabyoonas, or, 
Nabi Yunas, a very commodious khan, kept by a 
Dervish, who entertained us hospitably for our 
money. We observed at sea, not above two miles 
from us, a Greek Cruiser, which had picked up four 
small vessels as prizes, and was keeping them toge- 
ther till the next morning. 

The spot called Nabi Yunas is a pleasant retired 
beach ; where, as the tradition of the country says, 
the Prophet Jonas was cast upon dry land, after 
being three days and three nights in the belly of the 
whale. The Dervish, a Mahomedan, who received 
us, owns this tradition, as well as the Christians. 
In the evening, he sat with us half-an-hour, while we 
produced our Arabic Bible and read, partly we to 
him and partly he to us, the story of Jonah, out of 
the Book of that Prophet. He kissed the book, and 
exclaimed, " The English know more about their 
religion, than we do about ours !" On his leaving 
our room, we had prayers with our servant ; reading 
the Second Chapter of Jonah in Italian. We did 
not omit to pray that we might be preserved from 
Jonah's unfaithfulness, and have grace to go whi- 
thersoever it might please God to send us. 

SAIDE. 

Wednesday, Oct .29 — We arrived at Saide about 
ten o'clock in the morning*. This city has a very 

* H The Christians lost the city of Saide in 1111. They took 
it again from the Saracens, and St. Louis repaired it, in the year 
1250 : but the Saracens made themselves masters of it, a second 
time, in the year 1289; and the Emir Fakredin judged fit to block 
up the harbour, that he might for ever keep at a distance his 
enemies." (Lettres Edif. et Curieuses : Vol. J. p. 214.) 



126 JOURNAL. 

noble and picturesque aspect at the distance of 
about two miles ; standing boldly out into the sea 
on rather high ground, and embosomed in trees. 
Saide is very nearly the boundary, to the north, of 
the Holy Land. (See Joshua xix. 28.) A mile before 
we reached it, we had to cross a river, which at this 
season was fordable ; but in the winter is not so, 
being passed by a bridge a little higher up. 

We lodged at the house of the English Agent, 
Yagoub Aga, who was formerly an Armenian 
Bishop in the Convent at Jerusalem ; but, having 
chosen to marry, and having thus violated Ecclesi- 
astical Rules, he was severed from that body, and 
is now living more after the manner of a Layman 
than of an Ecclesiastic. I had already seen him at 
Beirout. He professes much friendship for the 
Bible Society, and is very ready in turning to the 
passage in 1 Timothy hi. 2, which condemns the 
celibacy of his Church, and justifies his own con- 
duct. On the strength of this he says that the 
English Church and he are in accordance. But his 
language is not that of an humble and pious man ; 
and not every professed change of party, opinion, 
or custom, is conversion. He has, at present, in his 
house a French Gentleman, who was proceeding, 
about two years ago, with the French Charge" 
d' Affaires to Bagdad: he is an Ecclesiastic ; but 
he so little liked his enterprise, that, when he had 
reached Aleppo, he gave it up. 
We visited also the FrenchVice-Consul,M.Regnaud; 
and in his khan called also on Namet Alia, (the 
name signifies the grace or favour of God,) a Greek- 
Catholic Priest, very simple in his manner, and 
intelligent. While we were making these visits, the 



SAIDE. 127 

Greek Cruiser, which we had seen the day before, 
sent on shore the four small vessels which she had 
captured, after having taken from them all that was 
valuable ; adding a message that they had on board 
a Turk, for whose ransom they would accept six 
hundred piastres (about fifteen pounds sterling); 
but there, was little probability that the Turks in 
Saide would give that sum for the liberty of their 
countryman. Such is the miserable warfare now 
going on in the Levant ! a widely-extended civil 
war, embittered by religious animosity. 

We had not much encouragement here for the 
sale of the Scriptures. 

Some of the houses in Saide, and especially the 
great Khan which formerly was occupied by the 
French Factory, still serve to remind us of the flou- 
rishing state in which their commerce was about a 
hundred years ago, and even still later. Together 
with their commerce was united a very effective 
Jesuit Mission, of which the following account will 
not be unacceptable to the Reader. 

After mentioning various circumstances which led 
them to establish their Mission at Saide, the Writer, 
who was the Superior General of the Jesuit Mis- 
sions in Syria and Egypt, proceeds to describe the 
formation of a French Congregation, among whom 
one of their Missionaries exercised the Office of 
Chaplain, in the following terms : — 

The Gentlemen of the French Nation, who had been the 
assiduous hearers of Father Rigordy during Advent and 
Lent, were so much touched by his Discourses, that they 
formed the resolution of retaining him for the purpose of 
establishing at Saide a Mission, similar to that at Damascus. 
They gave him an apartment in the vast house which several 
of them occupied ; and provided for his maintenance and that 



128 JOURNAL. 

of two other Missionaries, whom he was to obtain to share 
with him the labours of the Mission. 

This Father, who knew by experience how much good or 
evil is done among foreigners by the good or bad example of 
the French out of their own country, judged fit to commence 
his Mission, by labouring for the religious benefit of those 
French, who were collected for purposes of commerce at 
Saide. The method most proper for succeeding in this was 
the establishment of a Congregation, on the model of those 
which our Society has always taken pains to establish in all 
our houses, in order to bring persons of different conditions 
and ages to the practice of the duties and virtues of their state. 

He proposed this to the most ancient and distinguished of 
the Merchants ; assuring them, at the same time, that the 
erection of a Congregation in honour of the Holy Virgin 
would give them, in this august Mother of God, a powerful 
Protectress, who would draw upon them, their families, and 
their commerce, abundant benedictions. 

These assurances from a man who had gained their esteem 
and confidence, produced the effect desired by Father 
Rigordy. They not only consented to this establishment, 
but they co-operated with the Father, in preparing a commo- 
dious Chapel, and in associating with themselves other French 
Merchants to begin with them the exercises of the Congre- 
gation. 

The principals were M. Andre (afterward elected Patriarch 
of the Syrian Nation), Messrs. Stoupans, Audifroy, Lambert, 
and Piquet. These first Congregationists did infinite honour to 
the new establishment. All the leisure, which they had from 
the occupations of commerce, they employed in good works. 
They took, especially, great care in assisting poor Christians ; 
seeking them out in those obscure places where their poverty 
lay concealed. God put such honour on their good example, 
that several other considerable French Merchants desired to 
be admitted into the number of the Congregationists. They 
were known in the city for their modesty, piety, and charity. 
Strangers were edified by the sight; and were the first to 
praise the good effects produced by the Establishment. 

(Lettres Ed'ijiantcs et Curieuses: Foil. pp. 217—219.) 



FROM SAIDE TO SOU R. 



129 



FROM SAIDE TO SOUR. 

Thursday, Oct. 30, 1823— We departed for Sour. 
The scenery, through the chief part of this day's 
ride, is remarkably simple. On the right-hand is 
the sea ; on the left, a low modest line of mountains : 
the intervening country is quite flat, varying in width 
generally from a hundred-and-nfty to three hundred 
yards ; though, nearer Sour, it is occasionally a 
thousand yards, or even a mile, in width. About 
three hours from Saide is shewn, a little way up the 
contiguous mountains, a small village now called 
Zarfa, and supposed to be the Zarephath or Sarepta, 
where the widow dwelt to whomElisha the Prophet 
was sent: (1 Kings xvii. 9. Luke iv. 26.) The path 
on which we are riding is a pleasant turf; a very 
agreeable contrast to the sand and rock, to which 
we have hitherto been accustomed. 

The remarkably simple air of this level tract of 
land suits with that touching portion of the Gospel, 
which records the interview of our Saviour on this 
very spot, the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, with the 
Syro-Phenician Woman. This is, indeed, the first 
place, in which we have had occasion to draw 
out our New Testaments to trace the course of our 
Saviour's history. 

About half-way between Saide and Sour (Sidon 
and Tyre) are very extensive ruins of towns, which 
once connected these two cities : but, of these ruins, 
there is now scarcely one stone left upon another. 
They consist chiefly of lines which shew, razed even 
with the soil, the foundations of houses — many stones 
irregularly scattered — a few cisterns with half- 

K 



130 JOURNAL. 

defaced sculpture on them ; and, at a considerable 
distance from the path, there are at one spot several 
low columns, either mutilated or considerably sunk 
in the earth. The animal on which I rode set his foot 
on a very small piece of mosaic work, but it was too 
paltry to deserve the pains of stooping down to pick 
it up. These reliques shew, what it needed indeed 
no such evidence to prove, that, in peaceable and 
flourishing times, on this road between two such 
considerable cities as Tyre and Sidon, there must 
have been many smaller towns, for pleasure, busi- 
ness, and agriculture, delightfully situated by the 
sea-side : but peaceful security has long been a bless- 
ing unknown to these regions ; and we may apply 
to them the language of Judges v. 7 , The villages 
ceased: they ceased in Israel. Hence it is, that, in- 
stead of resting pleasantly at shorter intervals on our 
journey, we are obliged to make stretches of a day's 
length, that we may reach the different cities by 
night; a method, for us, far preferable to travelling 
with a tent and arms. 

CONVENT OF DEIR MHALLES. 

Shortly before we arrived in Sour, we were over- 
taken by a party of Turks and Christians. One of 
the Christians was a young Priest, from the cele- 
brated Convent in the neighbourhood, Deir Mhalles. 
I joined conversation with him. He spoke only 
Arabic. They have a Bishop from Rome, who is a 
learned man. The number of Monks belonging to 
the Convent is, he says, a hundred and one : but, 
of these, about fifty are distributed in various parts 
of the country, performing the parochial duty of the 
different towns. I have already noted that there 



SOUR. 131 
are three of these at Deir el Kamr. They are all 
Greek Catholics, or MelchTtes. 



SOUR. 

On reaching Sour, we took a room in the Greek- 
Catholic Convent, the state of which we were sur- 
prised to see ; for only the upper rooms were occu- 
pied by a few Monks, while all the lower rooms 
round the Court-yard were occupied by families. 
In a School-room here, we counted seventy boys : 
they were, for the most part, learning in the Psalter : 
we sold several Arabic Psalters to them, but the 
price of the New Testament was above their means. 
The Greek-Catholic Bishop, formerly here, is dead. 

Friday, Oct. 31, 1823 — Early in the morning we 
walked out, to survey a little the aspect of this once 
far-famed city. Turning to our right, we came to 
the western part of it, and found a very large tract 
totally unoccupied by houses, where animals were 
grazing. It was skirted to the west by a wall : on 
looking over this to the sea beneath, we saw the 
breakers freely dashing over many a column pros- 
trate among the rocks. This was the first memento 
of Tyrian Story which we beheld. 

Going round to the left, we arrived at the ruins of 
the Greek Church noticed by Maundrell ; and, 
climbing up the broken steps of the winding stair- 
case in the turret to the top, we took a full view of 
the city and its neighbourhood. We first endea- 
voured to count the houses ; which we estimated at 
about two hundred : but most of these consist of 
only one or two rooms : they are like huts, rather 
than houses ; and very few had a second story. 
Interspersed among them are a few small gardens. 

k 2 



132 JOURNAL. 

The houses appear to be rather new — a circum- 
stance which accounts for the apparent discrepancy 
between this statement and that of Maundrell. He 
describes Tyre, in his time, as containing- " nothing 
but a mere Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults, 
&c, ; there being net so much as one entire house 
left. Its present inhabitants are only a few poor 
wretches, harbouring themselves in the vaults" — all 
which might very well be the case then, and yet it 
may have a different appearance now. It may be 
remarked, also, that the state of the season exceed- 
ingly influences our apprehensions of the condition 
of the poor towns of the Levant : if seen in bright 
dry weather like the present, their meanness is dis- 
guised ; if viewed when wet, dirty, and cold, the 
rain often dripping through the roofs of the houses — 
the want of sensible comfort aggravates all the other 
disgusts of a European Traveller. It was in the 
month of March, A.D. 1696, that Maundrell visited 
Tyre. The narrow neck of land, eastward, by which 
the labours of Alexander connected Insular Tyre 
with the main -land, appears to be about a mile in 
width, from north to south: it is covered with sand. 
No trace appears of the line of the ancient channel. 
I have heard the wish expressed by a lover of Anti- 
quarian Research, that he might have the privilege 
of digging in the sand here, to find helmets, spears, 
and other warlike memorials of Alexander: whether 
such an attempt has ever yet been made, I am unac- 
quainted. Looking toward the sea, on the other 
side of the peninsular city, westward, we see a line 
of broken ledges of rocks running nearly north and 
south, as a kind of tangent to the projecting western 
extremity of Tyre : this line extends on the northern 



SOUR. 133 
side, about a mile ; on the southern, about a quarter 
of a mile. The Harbour of Modern Tyre is formed 
by the ledges on the north ; through the intervals of 
which there are two or three passages for vessels of 
small size, as also an open passage to the north ; 
from which quarter the harbour is, however, much 
exposed. The small space, partially sheltered by 
the ledges to the south of the city, does not appear 
to be used by vessels ; but it occurred to me, as a 
point to be ascertained by those who shall hereafter 
have more leisure to explore the state of the place, 
whether, when Tyre was an island, ships might 
not, through the channel afterwards filled up by 
Alexander, shift from one side to the other of the 
city, so as to have a secure birth in every state of 
the wind and sea ; which, at present, they cannot 
have. It is difficult to perceive in what way, other- 
wise, the great maritime concerns of this place 
could, in ancient times, have been maintained. 

On leaving this Greek Church, we went to the 
water-side, accompanied by a Christian, an intelli- 
gent man, a native of Tyre ; who had not dared to 
ascend with us the highest part of the ruined stair- 
case, lest he should incur some penalty from the 
Turks. We took a boat, for the purpose of observ- 
ing the northern line of rocks; and of examining 
what traces of antiquity were to be discovered, in 
that which now constitutes the Harbour. There 
is, first, a very small inner cove, fit only for the ad- 
mission of boats or small craft. Out of it we passed 
into the general Harbour, by a narrow channel. On 
the eastern or land side of the Harbour, is a small 
ruined tower ; surrounded, at its foot, by a great 
number of columns, scattered and thrown in every 



134 JOURNAL. 

position: I counted them, and found their number 
to be about a hundred. The frequent expression of 
the Prophet— in the midst of the seas — or, as the 
Original has it, in the heart of the seas (Ezekiel 
xxvii. 4, 26, 32, & xxviii. 2.) — led me to suspect 
that buildings might once have existed even on these 
rocks ; but, on going further out, and examining the 
first of these ledges of rocks, we were quite satis- 
fied that no traces of antiquities are to be seen here. 
It was not possible, on account of the breakers, to 
go out to sea and explore the scattered columns, 
which we had before seen, over the city- wall, at 
the western side. We consequently returned ; and 
the boatman, now understanding that we were in 
search of columns, pointed out, at the bottom of the 
first-mentioned small cove, a great number of very 
large size. It is said that the natives of the country 
have, in modern times, collected these columns and 
sunk them — not at Tyre only, but in other parts of 
Syria ; with the desire of destroying the harbours, 
and thus impeding the approach of maritime nations 
to the mountainous and independent country of 
Lebanon*. 

From the guide above mentioned, who seemed to 
know well the state of his native city, we received 
the following census of the population : one thou- 
sand Metawalies, principally soldiers — one hundred 
Turks — one hundred Maronites — of the Orthodox 
Greeks, only four or fiv e : there were more for- 
merly ; but, during the present troubles, they have 
removed. The principal body of Christians, he 



* See Note at page 125. 



RUIN OF ANCIENT TYKE. 135 

says, are Greek Catholics, but he did not assign 
their number. His account would lead me to sup- 
pose the population to be fourteen or fifteen hundred 
souls. From the estimate which we made of the 
number of houses, namely two hundred, each of 
which, though meanly built, may be computed to 
hold five persons at least, there should result a po- 
pulation of full one thousand souls. I should rather 
give seven to each house ; both for the reasons spe- 
cified in estimating the population of Beirout, and 
because, as there are next to no villages near to 
Tyre, this city is the more likely to be densely 
peopled. The real number may therefore be, four- 
teen hundred. 

ltUIN OF ANCIENT TYHE. 

At twelve o'clock, we took our departure from 
this interesting spot, and followed our route south- 
ward. But, before we finally leave this topic, it 
may be expedient to refer, somewhat at large, to 
the prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah, and to point 
out that this is not the Old City, whose antiquity 
was of ancient days (Is. xxiii. 7) ; and the total de- 
struction of which is foretold by Ezekiel. We were 
yet to pass over the site of that proud ancient Tyre, 
situated, as Strabo relates, about four miles south- 
ward of the then insular, but now peninsular, Tyre. 
Not distinguishing between the ancient and present 
Tyre, and supposing the modern city to be a re- 
building of the old, the mind might be scandalized 
by the apparent want of completion of some part 
of Ezekiel's prophecy ; particularly the following — 
I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more : 
though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be 



130 JOURNAL. 

found again: (Cb. xxvi. 21.) How exactly this has 
been accomplished to the very letter will, however, 
appear to every one passing southward, as we did 
this evening, from Modern Tyre toward Acre. 

Somewhere upon this ground, and further on than 
Ras el Ain, must have been the site of the first 
Tyre ; but not a single vestige of an ancient city 
appears. We had read, in our social devotions, 
with the most lively interest, the Twenty-third Chap- 
ter of Isaiah, and the Twenty-six th r Twenty-seventh, 
and Twenty-eighth Chapters of Ezekiel ; tracing — 
so far as we knew the different countries therein 
mentioned and the produce of each — the sources of 
Tyrian wealth and glory ; especially the Twenty- 
seventh Chapter. What a minute, and varied, and 
splendid record of earthly prosperity, concentrated 
in this vast emporium! But, on this deserted shore, 
not one sight, not one sound remains, to bear wit- 
ness to her former joy ousness and pride! I have 
seen the ruins of Athens, and the innumerable me- 
morials of Egyptian glory in Thebes. There, enough 
survives to lead the mind to expand with wonder, 
or to sadden with regret : but, of Ancient Tyre, 
there just remains that utter nothing, which seems 
best suited to prepare the Christian for imbibing the 
spirit of the prophetic language — The word of the 
Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto 
the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God: 
Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, 
I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst 
of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though 
thou set thine heart as the heart of God. Behold, 
thou art iviser than Daniel : there is no secret that 
they can hide from thee: with thy wisdom and with 



RUIN OF ANCIENT TYRE. 137 

thine understanding, thou hast gotten thee riches 9 
and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures : 
by thy great wisdom and by thy traffic, hast thou 
increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up be- 
cause of thy riches : therefore thus saith the Lord 
God ; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart 
of God, behold, therefore, I will bring strangers upon 
thee, the terrible of the nations ; and they shall draw 
their sioords against the beauty of thy ivisdom, and 
they shall defile thy brightness : they shall bring thee 
down to the pit, and thou shalt die the death of them 
that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet 
say before him that slayeth thee, I am God ? but 
thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him 
that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of 
the uncircumcised, by the hand of strangers: for 
I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. More- 
over, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of 
Tyrus,and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God: 
Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect 
in beauty ! Thou hast been in Eden the garden of 
God: every precious stone was thy covering; the 
sardius, topaz, and the diamond ; the beryl, the onyx, 
and the jasper; the sapphire, the emerald, and the 
carbuncle, and gold : the workmanship of thy tabrets 
and of thy pipes was prepared in thee, in the day that 
thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub 
that covereth; and I have set thee so : thou wast upon 
the holy mountain of God: thou hast walked up and 
down in the midst of the stones of fire : thou wast 
perfect in thy ways, from the day that thou wast 
created, till iniquity was found in thee : by the multi- 
tude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of 



138 JOURNAL. 

thee with violence, and thou hast sinned. Therefore 
I will cast thee, as profane, out of the mountain 
of God; and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, 
from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was 
lifted up, because of thy beauty: thou hast corrupted 
thy wisdom, by reason of thy brightness : I will cast 
thee to the ground: I will lay thee before kings, that 
they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanc- 
tuaries, by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the 
iniquity of thy traffic ; therefore will I bring forth a 
fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee ; and 
I w ill bring thee to ashes upon the earth, in the sight 
of all them that behold thee. All they that know 
thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: 
thou shalt be a terror^ and never shalt thou be any 
more: (JEzek. xxviii. 1 — 19.) 

ANCIENT AND MODERN TYRE. 

The inquisitive reader may see fully discussed, in 
Reland's Palestine, pp. 1049 — 1054, the different 
facts and arguments relative to Ancient and Modern 
Tyre. The result of the impression on my mind, 
after having seen the spot, is this — that Ancient 
Tyre, which was situated about four miles to the 
south of the present Peninsular Tyre, having been 
utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar B. C. 573, 
the prophecy of Ezekiel, chap. xxvi. 21, may be 
considered to have had its literal and complete 
accomplishment. That there might even then be 
some city in existence upon the peninsular spot now 
bearing the name of Tyre, at that time insular, may 
be inferred, not solely, perhaps not principally, from 
the various historical notices and illustrations given 



ANCIENT AND MODERN TYKE. 139 

by Reland ; but, most naturally, from the following 
simple considerations. It was impossible for Tyre 
ever to have been a great commercial power, without 
the harbour which adjoins the island : and it is not 
likely that this harbour should have been used, and 
the island not have been built upon. But, admitting* 
that the island was then inhabited, still the insular 
town was not necessarily to be considered as iden- 
tical with the Old City, but merely an appendage of 
it. The wealthy men might live in Old Tyre, all 
whose merchants were princes; but the labouring 
mariner, and others of humble rank, would fix their 
dwelling upon Insular Tyre, near to the shipping. 
And it is this class of persons which is described 
as peculiarly in commotion and activity, on occasion 
of the success of Nebuchadnezzar's arms against 
the ancient parent city : The suburbs — Insular Tyre, 
and the parts adjacent to it and to the sea-side — 
shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. And 
all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots 
of the sea, shall come down from their ships : they 
shall stand upon the land ; and shall cause their voice 
to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and 
shall cast up dust upon their heads : they shall wallow 
themselves in the ashes ; and they shall make themselves 
utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, 
and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of hear t 
and bitter wailing : and, in their wailing, they shall 
take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, 
saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed 
in the midst of the sea? (JEzek. xxvii. 2.8: — 32.) 

This view of the divisions of this once-extensive 
city may serve also to reconcile the apparent con- 
trariety in the words of Ezekiel and Isaiah. Ezekiel* 



140 JOURNAL. 

having predicted the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, 
four times declares this destruction to be final : Thou 
shall be built no more: chap. xxvi. 14 — Thou shalt 
be no more : thou shalt never be found again : v. 21 — 
Thou never shalt be any more: chap, xxvii. 36 — Never 
shalt thou be any more: chap, xxviii. 19. But Isaiah, 
having also predicted the same event of the destruc- 
tion of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, proceeds to declare 
that it shall be restored: chap, xxiii. 15 — 18. 
It shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be 
forgotten seventy years &c. : but — after the end of 
seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall 
turn toher hire, &c. The first part of Isaiah's pro- 
phecy, coinciding with that of Ezekiel, was accom- 
plished, as has already been noticed, by the total 
destruction and razing to the ground of the Ancient 
City by Nebuchadnezzar in the 32d year of his 
reign, B. C. 573. After full seventy years, B. C. 503, 
the second part of the prophecy of Isaiah became 
fulfilled, by the rebuilding of insular, not ancient, 
Tyre, under Darius Hystaspes, in the 19th year of 
his reign*. We must, consequently, understand 
Isaiah, in his Twenty-third Chapter, to be speaking 
of two different cities, bearing successively the same 
name; the name of the parent city having been 
transferred to that which seventy years afterward 
sprung as it were from its ashes. The new city, built 
upon a contiguous site, was to revive the memory of 
the first: Make sweet melody, sing many so?igs, that 
thou may est be remembered : (Isaiah xxiii. 16.) 

The vicissitudes experienced by Tyre, subse- 



* See Prideaux's Connection, Vol. I. Part 1. Book 2. Anno 573; 
and Book 4. Anno 503. 



ANCIENT AND MODERN TYRE. 141 

quently to the events predicted by Isaiah and 
Ezekiel, are of a very interesting nature. The ex- 
tensive line of aqueducts, yet seen here in ruins, was 
the work of Alexander. The siege of the island 
by him, and the success of his astonishing project 
to join it to the main-land, filling up a channel of 
about half-a-mile in width, took place B. C. 332 ; 
that is, 171 years after the latest circumstance 
noticed in prophecy, and accomplished under Darius 
Hystaspes: (Isaiah.xxiii.15.) The commodiousness 
of this harbour was thus effectually impaired by the 
founder of Alexandria ; and the commercial cele- 
brity of Tyre gradually dwindled away. 

There is something peculiarly sharp in the con- 
trast drawn by Pliny ; who, while he does homage 
to the nobility of Ancient Tyre, casts the scornful 
glance of a proud Roman at its vain and sole-survi- 
ving distinction in his time. " Tyre," he observes, 
" was formerly illustrious for having given birth to 
colonies — for being the parent of Leptis, of Utica, 
and of that rival of the Roman Empire, grasping at 
the whole earth, Carthage — illustrious for the build- 
ing of a city beyond the limits of our Roman World, 
Cadiz : now, all her nobility consists in her shell 
and purple dye !"* 



* The words of Pliny, giving at the same time, with great concise- 
ness, the geographical bearings of this Ancient City, are as follows : — 

Tyrus, quondam Insula, prsealto mari septingentis passibus divisa, 
nunc vero Alexandri oppugnantis operibus Continens : olim partu 
clara, urbibus genitis, Lepti, Utica, et ilia Romani Imperii semula, 
ten-arum orbis avida, Carthagine ; etiam Gadibus extra orbem con- 
ditis. Nunc omnis ejus nobilitas conchylio atque purpura constat. 
Circuitus xix. mill, passuum est, intra Palaetyro inclusa. Oppidum 
ipsum xxu. stadia obtinet. Inde Sarepta, et Ornithon oppida, et 
Sidon artifex vitri, &c. (Plinii Nat. Hist, lib. v. cap. 17.) 



142 JOURNAL. 

In a far purer and sublimer strain, designed to 
humble, not to flatter, the evil passions of our nature, 
the inspired Prophet declares the instructive design 
of this dispensation: the lord hath purposed it, 
to stain the pride of all glory ! Surely if there 
be on the face of the earth at this moment one Nation 
pre-eminent above the rest, " in Ships, in Colonies, 
in Commerce," this is the spot from which the voice 
of the Judge of Nations should be heard by her — 
warning her not to be lifted up with pride, or de- 
based by luxury and selfishness ; but to devote her 
merchandise as holiness unto the lord — liberally 
embarking her wealth and powerful influence in 
every benevolent and religious enterprise. Gratitude 
demands it ; and this will be her surest protection ! 

khan nahoura. 

Having passed over the beautiful stream and 
meadows of Ras el Ain, we entered a more rocky 
road, and came to the foot of the line of mountains, 
ending in a promontory, called Capo Bianco, or the 
White Cliff ; which forms a mid- way barrier betwixt 
Tyre and Acre. After ascending it a little way, we 
reached, just after sun-set 3 a poor hovel, called 
Khan Nahoura; the owner of which, having several 
guests already arrived, made many difficulties about 
receiving us : a little money, however, changed his 
heart toward us. Happily, just before our arrival, we 
were hailed by some fishermen on the water-side — 
men, who probably at this day are unconsciously 
fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel, chap. xxvi. 5, 14 
— from whom we bought some excellent fish. With 
no other preparation than that of putting them 



MOUNT CAIIME L. 143 

whole into the burning embers, they furnished us 
with a very seasonable and refreshing supper. 



FINE VIEW OF MOUNT CARMEL. 

Saturday, Nov. 1 , 1 823 — Very early before sun-rise, 
we set off from this poor Khan, designing to reach 
Acre before noon, which, at the slow rate that we tra- 
velled, would not be easy. Contrary to their usual 
custom, the guides were as eager now to depart as 
ourselves : the reason was, that, as the Pacha dines 
at noon and retires immediately after to sleep, and 
no traveller is permitted to enter the gate of the city 
till his name and business are announced personally 
to the Pacha, he who should arrive between twelve 
and three o'clock incurs the risk of waiting all that 
time, be the weather what it may, almost without 
shelter*. 

The first hour of our journey we spent nearly in 
darkness— wanderers, as it seemed to me, among 
the mountains; both guides and animals, however, 
with instructive sagacity keeping the track. At 
length the pleasant light covered the sky ; and, not 
long after, we arrived at the height which com- 
mands the ample plain of Acre. The elegant and 
lofty Minaret of the City appeared at a distance of 
seven or eight miles, directly before us : in the back- 
ground, far off, twice as distant as the City, was a 
noble scene — Mount Carmel dipping its feet in the 
Western Sea ; and, to the east, running considerably 



* On his return this way, the Author, with about thirty others, who 
gradually collected at the gate, had to wait in this manner nearly three 
hours, in the rain ; a few of the party being miserably sheltered under 
the arch-way. 



144 JOURNAL. 

inland ; entirely locking up from our view the Vale 
of Sharon, which lies to the south of it. In the 
horizon on the left, the sun was rising over the 
milder mountain scenery, which lies on the road to 
Nazareth. 

Here, though already three days within the con- 
lines of Palestine, I first felt myself on holy ground. 
We were leaving the gloi-y of Lebanon ; and , before 
us, was the excellency of Carmel. As I descended 
the mountain and entered on the plain, I was often 
constrained to give utterance to my feelings, in sing- 
ing a favourite air, of which the words are, Emitte 
Spirt turn tuum — et creabuntur — et renovabis faciem 
terra ! It w as the anniversary of my first landing 
in Malta : eight years have I now been on the 
Mediterranean Mission ; and I can truly say, Hitherto 
the Lord hath helped me, and preserved my going-out 
and my coming-in. Then, I and my family were 
alone in the Mediterranean : since that time, more 
than Twenty Missionaries have entered on the field ; 
of w hom the greater part yet continue in it. 

ACRE. 

After a most pleasant ride, we reached the gate 
of the city ; and, in about a quarter-of-an-hour, our 
names having been carried to the palace, we were 
admitted, and took our way to the house of the 
English Vice- Consul, Mr. Mac Michael ; who hospi- 
tably entertained us four days. 

In the evening, after various conversations on our 
objects and plans, we proposed to perform Divine 
Service, the next day, to such as could be brought 
together. The notice was inevitably short ; but it 
was given out immediately. 



ACHE. 145 

Sunday, Nov. 2, 1823 — This morning, in the Con- 
sul's room, we held Divine Service, with a congre- 
gation of ten souls — as promiscuous an assembly as 
could well be expected within the compass of so 
small a number. The individuals who composed it 
were, a British Consul — his Dragoman, a native of the 
country — a Maronite Priest — a Roman Physician- 
one Greek — one Jew — an English Captain of a Mer- 
chant vessel then in port — my Servant, who is under 
French protection — an American Brother- Missio- 
nary — and myself, of the Church of England . Mr. 
Fisk conducted the Prayers ; and I afterward 
preached from 2 Cor. v. 17. Therefore if any man be 
in Christ, he is a neiu creature : old things are passed 
away: behold, all things are become new. The whole 
Service was in Italian. Toward the close of my 
Sermon, quoting the verses following the Text, I 
dwelt briefly on the importance of the right exercise 
of the Christian Ministry ; pointing out, " that, 

TILL THE WORK OF PREACHING IS REVIVED, THERE 
IS NO HOPE THAT THESE COUNTRIES WILL BE RAISED 
FROM THEIR PRESENT DEGRADATION AND MISERY ; 
AND THAT THIS IS MANIFESTLY THE CALLING AND 
OFFICE OF THE ORDAINED MINISTERS OF THE 
COUNTRY." 

This was particularly intended for the ear of the 
Maronite Priest, Don Giuseppe ; and it was well 
taken, I believe, by him : he remained after the Ser- 
vice, and conversed very affably. He bears a very 
respectable character ; and has had a superior edu- 
cation to many, having spent several years in early 
life in study in the College at Rome. He appears 
now to be nearly fifty years old. He has under his 



140 JOURNAL. 

pastoral care all the Maronite houses in Acre ; but 
they are not numerous. 

SCENE IN THE KHAN AT ACRE. 

Monday, Nov. 3, 1823 — Looking out of our window 
upon the large open Quadrangular Court of the 
Khan, we behold very much such a scene as would 
illustrate the " Arabian Nights' Entertainments." 
In the centre, is a spacious fountain, or reservoir — 
the first care of every builder of great houses or 
cities in the East. On one side, is a row of camels, 
each tied by the slenderest cord to a long string ; 
to which a small bell is appended, so that by the 
slightest motion they keep up one another's atten- 
tion, and the attention also of all the inmates of the 
khan, that of weary travellers especially, by a con- 
stant jingle. On another side, horses and mules are 
waiting for orders; while asses breaking loose, 
biting one another, and throwing up their heels, give 
variety to the scene. Goats, geese, poultry, &c, are 
on free quarters. In the midst of all these sights 
and sounds, the groom, the muleteer, the merchant, 
the pedlar, the passers-by, and the by-standers, most 
of them wretchedly dressed, though in coats of many 
colours, all looking like idlers whatever they may 
have to do, contrive to make themselves audible ; 
generally lifting up their voices to the pitch of high 
debate, and very often much higher. 

Noise, indeed, at all times seems to be the proper 
element of the people of these countries : their 
throats are formed for it — their ears are used to it — 
neither the men nor the females, grown-up persons 
nor children, the rich nor the poor, seem to have 



ACRE. 147 

any exclusive privilege in making it — and, what is 
very annoying to a Frank Traveller, the party with 
whom he is treating, and who wishes most probably 
to impose on him, will turn round to make an ap- 
peal to all the by-standers, who are no less ready 
with one voice to strike in with their opinion on all 
matters that come before them. 

The bustle has been increased this morning, by 
the departure of the wives of the Governor of Jaffa. 
They set off in two coaches, of a curious construc- 
tion, common in this country : the body of the coach 
was raised on two parallel poles ; somewhat similar 
to those used for sedan-chairs, only that in these 
the poles were attached to the lower part of the 
coach — throwing, consequently, the centre of gravity 
much higher ; and apparently exposing the vehicle, 
with its veiled tenant, to an easy overthrow, or at 
the least to a very active jolt. Between the poles, 
strong mules were harnessed, one before and one 
behind ; who, if they should prove capricious, or 
have very uneven and mountainous ground to pass, 
would render the situation of the ladies still more 
critical. But there is nothing to which use may not 
reconcile us ; and they who can be brought to 
endure the trot of the camel, may consider them- 
selves as franked for every other kind of convey- 
ance. 

The immense Khan, of which the Consul's rooms 
form a small part, is inhabited by a great variety of 
families. It is three stories high ; and in so dilapi- 
dated a state, that it seems to me to wait only for a 
gentle shock of an earthquake — no improbable event 
— to bring it all down. In one part reside the 
Roman-Catholic Missionaries from Europe, under 

l 2 



148 JOURNAL. 

the " Terra Santa;* 5 four or five in number, at pre- 
sent : but, of these Establishments, the more I see, 
the less pleasant I feel it to make mention. 

On Mount Carmel was a beautiful Latin Conv ent, 
under French protection ; but, a short time since, 
the Pacha of Acre razed it to the ground, under the 
plea of its being calculated to give advantage to the 
Greeks, if they should land. The insult occasioned 
a rupture between the Pacha and the French Con- 
sul ; who not receiving satisfaction, struck his flag, 
and retired to Saide, where he is now living. The 
houseless Friars came to Acre. 

PROPHETICAL PICTURE OF THE HOLY LAND. 

In the course of this day, we began to sell the 
Arabic Sacred Scriptures ; with more success than 
we had experienced at Saide and Sour, which en- 
couraged us to stop a little longer. I also wrote 
many Letters ; from one of which, as it expressed 
exactly the feelings which the state of these coun- 
tries is calculated to excite, I make no apology for 
giving the following extract — 

I feel myself in this country so much affected with the two 
Prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and I have so long in this 
and all my former journeys felt them come to my very inmost 
soul, that I cannot but think that there would be a peculiar 
advantage in printing them, in Arabic, in Greek, and in 
Italian, for distribution, in a separate form, from the rest of 
the Old Testament. The Prophecy of Jeremiah describes, 
with a minuteness of fidelity, surpassing all human power of 
description, the real state, both as to principles and facts, of 
the fallen Christian Churches ; and, generally, of the whole 
population of these regions, at the present moment : while the 
Prophecy of Isaiah pourtrays, under the most animating 
figures, chiefly drawn from the natural scenery of this very 



A cue. 149 

land, the glorious state to which the whole Church of God 
will hereafter be exalted. I cannot but feel, that, were I a 
Missionary constantly travelling in this country, I should wish 
to have these two prophecies in such a form that I might con- 
tinually make reference to them — as a Manual, eminently 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof for correetion, for instruction 
in righteousness* 

MOSQUE OF DJEZZAR, IN ACRE. 

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1823 — This morning the Consul 
and Mr. Fisk waited on the Pacha, I was much 
indisposed, and could not accompany them. They 
obtained written Orders for our safe travelling to all 
parts of this Pachalic ; and, at the same time, a per- 
mission to pay a visit to the Mosque, called Djez- 
zar's, having been built by him in Acre. The 
Chaous came to us an hour after; and, as I was 
somewhat better, I joined them in this visit. 

On entering the precincts of the Mosque, we were 
required to take off our outer shoes. We entered a 
beautiful court, the pavement of which was cold 
marble : fountains played their streams, and the 
trees waved their branches with a softness and cool- 
ness most congenial to religious thought ; forming a 
perfect contrast to the noise, filthiness, and mean- 
ness of the streets which we had just left, in our pas- 
sage hither. Turks and Arabs, with most venerable 
silvery beards, were performing their ablutions, with 
such an air of sober enjoyment and religious nicety, 
as would inspire any one with the idea that they were 
transported with the luxury of cleanliness — a scene, 
this, well calculated to make the mind forget that 
there is. throughout all Turkey, more offensive filthi- 
ness than can be expressed. I can well conceive 
how a Traveller, just introduced to this spot, yield- 



150 JOURNAL. 

ing for the moment to the partial impression and 
committing his feelings immediately to writing, 
would convey to his reader a most enchanting idea 
of the purity of Mahomedan Ablutions. It is in 
this way, probably, that incorrect notions may have 
been sometimes formed in England, altogether too 
favourable to the living mass of Orientals. For the 
moment, it must be confessed, it is a most imposing 
spectacle : and, did we not know the abominations 
of the East, the lines of Thomson would carry the 
imagination far toward a good opinion of the morals 
inspired by these Mahomedan Ceremonies — 

Ev'n from the body's purity, the mind 
Receives a secret, sympathetic aid. 

On our right-hand, as we entered the court, are 
two splendid monuments, beneath which repose the 
ashes of the last two Pachas — Suleyman ; and his 
predecessor, the builder of this Mosque, the fero- 
cious Djezzar. His character is pourtrayed by Dr. 
Clarke, who was here during the lifetime of that 
Pacha. He has left among the inhabitants of Acre 
another, and a very different monument of his admi- 
nistration. Even before we entered the gates, we 
met with persons, now aged, whose noses had been 
cutoff by order of Djezzar ; and, in the streets or 
in the shops, there are seen many such victims of his 
cruelty. It was a common method with him of 
punishing offences, or of enforcing his exactions. 

His Prime Minister, Haiim, a Jew, had suffered 
from him, not only the loss of his nose, but of one of 
his eyes. This Minister survived him, and con- 
ducted also the affairs of the Government under his 
successor Suleyman. The present Pacha, Abdallah, k 



ACRE. 151 

has however put an end to his career, by ordering 
him to be killed : the manner of his death we did 
not exactly learn : some say that he was treache- 
rously seized in the presence of the Pacha, and sud- 
denly strangled, and his body then put into a sack 
and thrown into the sea. His family, with the vast 
wealth which he had accumulated, or more pro- 
bably with only a part of it, removed to Damascus : 
and it is here reported, that, upon this circumstance, 
turns the persecution which the Jews are at this 
moment suffering in Damascus ; the richest of them 
having been cast into prison, and a most exorbitant 
sum of money demanded of these people. 

While revolving in the mind such deeds of guilt, 
and reflecting that we are in the very country and 
near the very persons who have inflicted or suffered 
such inhumanities, the heart feels only pain at the 
view of this splendid tomb — beneath which, the 
body, indeed, at this moment lies buried in peace; 
but the spirit is separated, and gone to give its fear- 
ful account of the things done in the body. 

We entered the Mosque itself ; and found several 
persons, with volumes of the Koran before them, 
studying. The building is not large ; but very ele- 
gant, and handsomely carpeted. It has, on one 
side, a pulpit, with five or six marble steps leading 
up to it ; from which the Doctors address the peo- 
ple. It seems strange to contemplate the day — how 
far future, who can tell? — when some Evangelist may * 
here be permitted to stand and proclaim, In the 
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, and the Word was God! Yet that day will 
arrive — when the prayer of faith shall have prevailed 
with God. The dome above is surrounded by cir- 



152 JOURNAL. 

cular galleries ; similar, though in merest miniature, 
to the Whispering Gallery at St. Paul's Cathedral. 
We went to the top of the dome, but were not per- 
mitted to ascend the Minaret, which is very lofty, 
lest the eyes " of the Faithful" should be scanda- 
lized. 

On descending again from the Mosque into the 
court, we walked through the cloisters which sur- 
round it. Here we remarked many small, conve- 
venient rooms ; occupied, as we were told, partly by 
the servants of the Mosque, and partly by visitors or 
pilgrims from various parts of Turkey. Two or 
three of these rooms contain the library. We looked 
through the wire-grating which covered the win- 
dows, and could perceive a large collection of books 
within, marked on the edges with their titles in Ara- 
bic Characters ; but we were not allowed to go in. 

The effects of the late siege are sufficiently visible 
in different parts of this building, the cannon-balls 
having fallen sometimes on a window and dashed 
it to pieces : at other times, a column of the cloisters 
has been fairly carried away, and its place has been 
temporarily supplied by a beam of timber : in other 
spots, the balls have either disfigured the walls by 
a bruise, or else gone clean through the more flimsy 
parts of the structure : nor has the Pacha as yet 
sufficiently recovered from the expenses of the war 
to make the requisite repairs. He is bestowing 
what money he can raise, to repair the damage 
which was done to the outer walls of the city. 

The probable estimate given us of the population, 
was about five thousand souls : of which there may 
be Turks and Arabs, three thousand — Jews, eight 
hundred—Christians, twelve hundred. Of this 



ABILENE. 1,58 

number, about one thousand constitute the Pacha's 
Court and Troops. These, whenever he may move- 
out of the city to visit any quarter of his Pachalic, 
would, for the most part, move with him. 

ABILENE. 

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1823 — After much delay, oc- 
casioned by the mule- drivers, we set out for Naza- 
reth. When we had gone about two miles from the 
city-gates, we met on the plain half-a-dozen Arabs, 
preceded by a sort of Zany {one of the vain fellows : 
2 Sam.vi. 20.), fantastically dressed, with a wretched 
instrument of three strings, to which he sang, throw- 
ing himself from side to side of the path. As we 
approached, they all gathered round us, exclaiming 
" Adet, Adet" — i.e. " Custom. Custom." We were 
informed that they were celebrating the marriage of 
one of the party, whom they pointed out ; and ex- 
pected a present on the occasion. The bridegroom, 
with his face patched with gold-leaf, had the most 
stupid air of all ; though all looked very dull, and 
the whole office of mirth seemed to have been de- 
volved upon the buffoon. They were not so dull, 
however, as to forget their usual pilfering vocation : 
for, leaving us to pass, whom they perceived to be 
Franks, they thronged round our principal guide ; 
and, having hustled him from the beast which he 
rode, held him a long time in conference, while we 
were going on ; concluding by emptying his saddle- 
bags of that day's provisions. 

On leaving the Plain of Acre, our guides, who 
had confidently assured us that they knew the way, 
began to waver. We, however, reached Abilene ; 
and, perceiving still that there was reason to be 



154 JOURNAL. 

dissatisfied with them, 1 rode up the hill on which 
the town is built to find a new guide, but did not 
succeed. I had, however, just an opportunity to 
observe the place. This is not the Abilene of 
Scripture : (Luke iii. 1.) It appeared to me to con- 
tain probably five hundred souls : the houses were 
of very mean construction, and the whole place 
looked like a heap of rubbish. It is on the summit 
of the hill : a ruined arch- way of stone, and some 
other marks of ancient buildings, denote its having 
formerly been a place of consequence, and perhaps 
of strength. We observed, at the foot of the hill, a 
Christian Priest superintending the olive-gathering ; 
from which it may be inferred, that there are here 
some Christian Inhabitants. 

Our road then lay between low mountains covered 
with small trees : after which it opens on the western 
extremity of what appears to be the Plain of Galilee; 
or at least what runs into it. 

SEPHOURY. 

Crossing an angle of this plain to the right, we 
came to the ancient town of Sephoury ; mentioned 
in Josephus, as being in his time a military station of 
consequence. On the summit of the hill on w hich 
it stands is a ruined tower; and, in the south side, 
we passed some ruined arches. The population — 
speaking from conjecture — may be rather more than 
that of Abilene, say six or seven hundred souls. 

NAZARETH. 

The sun was now fast declining : and, as we were 
well persuaded of the ignorance of our guides by 
the frequent questions which they asked on the 



NAZARETH. 155 

road, we hastened on ; and, at length, when it was 
nearly dark, having entered the streets of Nazareth, 
proceeded to the Latin Convent, where we had an 
interview with the Monks, who were all collected 
together in the room of the Superior. In this room 
is an Order, fixed in a conspicuous place, directing 
that the Pilgrims shall enjoy hospitable entertain- 
ment for three days ; after which they are expected 
to move forward on their visit to the different scenes 
of devotion in this Holy Land. This direction did 
not, however, apply to us ; it being designed for 
those who pay nothing. Having, therefore, entered 
the apartment allotted to us, we began to revolve in 
our minds how we might do some good in this 
place, and extend our excursion to the interesting 
spots in its neighbourhood, before we should turn 
our faces toward Jerusalem. 

There are many passages in the history of our 
Divine Redeemer, which glance, with such simpli- 
city and pathos, on the circumstances of His conde- 
scending and endearing intercourse with those whom 
He came to save, that it would require a more than 
ordinary degree of moral insensibility, not to be 
touched with their beauty. Who can read St. 
Luke's account of them, when he was at the tender 
age of twelve years, and not be attracted toward 
Him by an irresistible affection? After He had 
been found by His disconsolate parents, and had 
gently reproved their misapprehension of His con- 
duct, which to them had appeared undutiful, it is 
added — proving, that undutifulness was no part of 
his character — And he went down with them and 
came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them : but his 
mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus 



150 JOURNAL. 

Increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with 
God and man. From my earliest childhood, I have 
learned to admire that passage : and, now that I am 
on the very spot to which it refers, it comes over my 
mind with a new freshness and delight. Here I am, 
resting, where my Redeemer, perfect God and per- 
fect Man, designed to pass His youth ; and was even 
subject to those, of whom He, as God, was the 
Creator and Lord ! Here, the devoted Mary, with 
a mother's fondness, and doubtless with a secret 
awe of His perfect wisdom, kept all His sayings in 
her heart. Few, very few of these His youthful ex- 
pressions are recorded ; the Evangelists relating, 
almost exclusively, the actions and discourses of His 
manhood and public ministry. But, here, those say- 
ings were by Him uttered; and, here, by Mary, and 
possibly by a few others*, they would be treasured 
up as matter for affectionate and adoring meditation. 

Thursday, Nov. 6, 1823 — Rising very early — for 
the interesting scenes around greatly excite me, and 
often take sleep from my eyes — I went down into 
the Court of the Convent, and found the Morning 
Congregation already assembling at the Chapel. By 
the faint light, I observed particularly some females, 
dressed in complete white, gliding along the Court 

* I venture to say, " few others." It might, perhaps, not un- 
fairly be inferred, that our Saviour's youth was very retired, from the 
circumstance that Nathanael, who lived so near to Nazareth and was 
so eminent a saint, yet speaks as a man ignorant of the conversation of 
Christ, and as one who supposed himself to be personally unknown to 
our Lord. If he had heard of the extraordinary discourses of Him, 
in ivhom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, he would 
scarcely have broken out into that exclamation, Can there any good 
thing come out of Nazareth? And when accosted familiarly by 
Jesus, he asks, Wlience hnowest thou me? Nazareth is distant from 
Cana only about five or six miles. 



NAZARETH. 157 

to attend the Service. The occasional sound of the 
organ accompanying the voice of the choristers was 
very touching. I did not, however, enter : it seems 
to me, that, as Christian Missionaries, it becomes us 
to be reserved in our communications with a System 
of Worship which cannot be considered as pure 
from idolatry. 

In the course of the morning, we visited the School 
of the Convent. A Native Roman- Catholic is the 
master, and teaches the children Arabic. We 
counted forty scholars, but the master says that he 
has fifty. They were chiefly reading, or learning to 
repeat, the Arabic Psalter. This is the great school- 
book to all the Native Christians : yet it is in a style 
considerably elevated above the vernacular, modern 
language. 

We entered the Chapel, at an hour when there 
was no Service. It is a fine large building ; and 
remarkably well adapted for display, there being 
three separate floors, tastefully arranged. 1. There 
is an elevated platform of ample dimensions, on 
which stands the High Altar; and from which 
the Priests command a view of the Congregation. 
2. By a flight of steps on either side, you descend 
from this platform to the longest floor ; which com- 
prehends, in fact, three-fourths of the total area of 
the building, and reaches to the lower end of the 
Chapel: here the Congregation assembles. 3. From 
this floor, a broad flight of steps, between the two 
flights before mentioned, leads down to a small 
Chapel and Altar, directly beneath the platform of 
the High Altar. Standing, therefore, in the middle 
of the principal floor, and looking toward the other 
two floors, the eye is caught, below, by the Altar of 



158 JOURNAL. 

the Salutation — above, by the solemnities of High 
Mass — and, higher still, by the Organs in the gal- 
leries on the other side. The work is costly ; and 
all around are large pictures in tapestry, exhibiting 
the different parts of Evangelical History, especially 
those belonging to Nazareth. We descended the 
steps to the lower Altar, and had a Priest to ex- 
plain the particulars of the place — such as the 
miraculous column, which still points out, it is 
said, where the Angel Gabriel stood ; the house (or 
cavern rather) behind the Altar, in which the Blessed 
Virgin lived ; the very spot where she lighted her 
fire to dress her food — and many such like things, 
to hear which excites one's pity. 

In the afternoon, from the terrace of the Convent, 
we had a very good view of the town. From re- 
peated estimates of the number of houses, which 
rise like an amphitheatre up the slope of the hill on 
which modern Nazareth is built, I should judge that 
there are five hundred. This would, in this coun- 
try, give a population certainly of as many as three 
thousand souls. One room is sometimes occupied 
by from five to ten persons : and one room of this 
sort frequently constitutes a house ; as has already 
been noticed in the account of Beirout and Tyre. 

In the centre of the town stands one Mosque ; 
the Minaret of which daily proclaims, that Jesus of 
Nazareth is not here the exclusive, or the dominant, 
Master. In no place which I have hitherto visited, 
does that sight diffuse such a sensible melancholy 
over the scene. 

The Convent is surrounded by well-walled gar- 
dens, with a good variety of fruit-trees and vines. 
For want of money, however, the number of Friars 



NAZARETH. 159 

is small, and the cultivation of the gardens is rather 
neglected. 

We commenced the sale of Sacred Scriptures 
to-day. Mr. Fisk went out to reconnoitre the dif- 
ferent bodies of Christians ; while I remained at 
home, indisposed. 

Friday, Nov. 7, 1823— The sale of the Sacred 
Scriptures continues with good success. Our ser- 
vant is active in this work, as we found him to be 
also at Acre. 

Saturday, Nov. 8 — The distribution of Scrip- 
tures, which is our principal work at present as 
Missionaries, continues ; not, however, without 
much inquiry and some opposition. The Greeks 
make no objection. Of the two Maronite Priests, 
one bought a copy from us, and paid promptly for 
it ; but, in two minutes, came to return it, and de- 
sired his money back, which we gave him. The 
Latins are the principal objectors; and, I have no 
doubt, the instigators of all the opposition that is 
made. We have, however, met their objections, 
one by one ; and some even of their own people 
come to purchase. 

One of the Priests plainly said, that they saw 
through the design of the English in bringing these 
books into the country — that it was, to form an 
English party ; adding, that the money thus spent 
might, with far better success, be given away by us, 
" sotto mano," as he expressed it, " under-hand," 
for the promotion of our design. An English 
party ! What a grovelling idea ! Oh that Missio- 
naries may ever rise, and may they raise others also, 
above such an unholy mingling of secular glory, or 
national or party interest, with holy things ! True, 



160 JOURNAL. 

we have often heard of the Bible Society as consti- 
tuting the chief glory of our Nation : and, in a cer- 
tain sense, it is so. But what is the glory of a 
redeemed sinner ?— Humility, and Love to his Re- 
deemer. And what the best spirit of a Christian 
nation ? — The same ; genuine Humility, confessing 
that we are not worthy to present a hundred thou- 
sand talents as an offering for the service of the 
Lord ; and fervent Love, persevering till it makes 
that sum a million, and yet deems such a gift too 
low a measure of its affection. 

It is, however, natural for men to judge others 
according to the standard of their own feelings ; 
and, on this ground, it may very well be understood 
how agents of Pontifical Supremacy should impute 
party-spirited motives to Missionaries of another 
Creed. May God grant, that the spirit of the Bible 
may so prevail, as that all shall desire only the win- 
ning of souls to Christ ! 

The Superior of the Convent having told our ser- 
vant not to sell any more Sacred Scriptures, the 
youth acquainted us with this command : adding, 
that the Superior had said, that the books would 
all be burnt when we were gone, and that the Greeks 
troubled him on the subject. I replied, " Giuseppe, 
there have been men put into the fire ; who, never- 
theless, came out unharmed : and so it will be with 
the Scriptures : some may be burned ; yet good will 
arise out of it, on the whole. We mean no disre- 
spect to the Superior, under whose roof we are 
living ; but this Book, you know, is the Master of 
us all." " Very true," he replied, " and all buy it." 
" Then," I said, " continue to sell, and fear no- 
thing ; for it is the will of God." He did so ; and 



NAZARETH. 161 

no evil came of it : so that he was much encou- 
raged. 

In the afternoon, I went with Mr. Fisk to visit 
the Greek Church. It is a little out of the town, to 
the north-east; a hundred steps or more beyond a 
well, to which the inhabitants of Nazareth go to 
draw water. In the Church is a separate Oratory, 
in the centre of which is a deep hole, communi- 
cating with the stream of water which supplies the 
above-mentioned well. The Greeks have their tra- 
dition, that the Virgin Mary was at this spot draw- 
ing water, when the Angel Gabriel saluted her. 
They do not deny that the Latin Convent is built on 
the spot where her house stood ; but they claim, for 
their part, the Well of the Salutation. These dis- 
tinctions furnish, to ignorant minds, matter for high 
controversy ; and serve, after men have differed 
from one another on weightier matters, to keep up 
those petty irritations, by which our Great Enemy 
prolongs among us the note of religious strife. The 
people were collecting together to attend the Ves- 
pers ; and the Priest encouraged them to buy our 
Arabic Scriptures : all of them speak Arabic, and 
some of them can read. We left a small supply for 
sale, during our absence of next week : these, w r e 
afterward found, were sold. The Greeks are the 
most numerous body of Christians in Nazareth, both 
by their own account and the admission of the 
others. They have three Priests. 

The Maronites here are few in number ; not above 
twenty or thirty houses. They seem to be the out- 
posts of Mount Lebanon ; for we found no more of 
them after this place, further South. They have a 
Church here ; and two Priests, brothers, from Ain el 

M 



IH2 JOURNAL. 

Warka. Tliey asked for Syriac Scriptures ; which* 
on a subsequent occasion, I was enabled to send 
them. 

TheLatin Convent, occupied by Franciscan Friars, 
is by far the most conspicuous and commodious 
building in Nazareth. It is entirely of stone, and 
very substantial ; and is surrounded by high walls. 
Adjoining it, but on the opposite side of the road, 
is another house of stone, belonging to the " Terra 
Santa;" occupied, at present, by the family of the 
Austrian Vice-Consul, Seignior Catafago, whom we 
left at Acre. This Convent consists of an old and a 
new part. The old is not used at present, in con- 
sequence of the fewness of the residents. The new 
part was built between sixty and seventy years ago ; 
and consists of about twenty- three rooms, on each 
side of three long corridors, forming this figure 

Z3CZ but, together with the old part, there must 
be at least fifty habitable rooms in the Establish- 
ment, besides out-oflices. The mode, in which the 
chambers are built, may be understood by describing 
ours : it is square ; the walls of massive thickness, 
so as to support its own roof, which is concave, and 
built of stone, without any wood. The corridors 
are arched. Thus, when walking on the top of the 
roof, there are as many convex sections of a globe 
upon its surface, as there are chambers. This is a 
mode of building much more ornamental than the 
flat roofs of Malta, which, from their sameness, weary 
the eye : these, on the contrary, are somewhat pic- 
turesque at a distance, having the appearance of 
many small domes. The tenants of this splendid 
Establishment are, at present, only eight or nine, of 



NAZARETH. 103 

whom five or six are Priests: four are Spanish : the 
rest are Neapolitans and Italians. Excepting the 
Curate, who, as Confessor, is under the necessity 
of speaking a little Arabic, the rest are ignorant of 
that language ; and some of them seemed quite to 
laugh at the idea of knowing it. Of course, they 
do not preach : but Latin Services of various kinds 
are almost constantly, day and night, performing in 
their splendid Church. How often, when taking 
my evening walk upon the terrace, has the reflection 
forced itself upon me — " This is a grand experi- 
ment: and it has failed!" Two things have cost 
the Latins dear in this land — Buildings and Fir- 
mans : the prime cost of the building of this Convent 
must have been immense ; and, when once settled 
in their various stations, the Friars are still under 
the necessity of drawing out from their purses con- 
tinually large sums of money, to satisfy the rapacity 
of the Turks, and purchase — what, it appears, could 
be had only by purchase—civil protection. And 
in what has it ended? Is Jesus of Nazareth wor- 
shipped more extensively in these countries, than he 
was before the Roman-Catholic Missions were sent 
hither? Has Mahomed anism yielded one jot or 
tittle to their influence? In reading the Lettres 
Edifianies et Curieuses, nothing is more surprising, 
than to perceive how little the Jesuits have to say 
of their success in this respect: as little have the 
other Orders to say: and, at the present moment, 
they scarcely pretend to have any thing to do with 
the conversion of the Mussulmans : they regard 
themselves as sent out principally to hold together 
the Romish Interest in the East ; so that, after so 
large an expense, it may be asserted, as the Author 

m 2 



.101 JOURNAL. 

lias elsewhere* expressed it, that " the Romish 
Missions have left to us the Mahomedan World, un- 
broken and entire." 

Sunday, Nov. 9, 1823 — We had Divine Service 

* Anniversary Sermon before the Society: 1821: p. 24; where 
the following reasons are stated. "We will point out two circum- 
stances, which mainly contributed to prevent the success of the Romish 
Missions in Mahomedan Countries ; and which will at the same time 
explain the ground of our fairer hopes. — The first error was, that they 
never gave the scriptures freely to the people : they did, indeed, trans- 
late the Scriptures into the universal language of Mahomedanism — 
Arabic : in this they have hewn wood and drawn water for those who 
may follow them; but this work was intended for the use of their 
Missionary Clergy, not for general distribution. The copies of this 
book are now somewhat rare in the East : they are not in the hands of 
Mahomedans, but in the Libraries of Christian Monasteries ; and, in 
these Monasteries, I have found Romish Missionaries, who have spent 
several years in Syria and Egypt, and yet cannot read the Arabic 
Bible. This folly of casting away the sword — or rather of fastening 
in its scabbard the sword cf the Spirit, which is the word of God — 
will not be ours. As Protestant Missionaries of the Church of Eng- 
land, we find ourselves necessarily and most beneficially connected 
with that Institution, which all nations will one day call, the Blessed: 
we willingly labour for the Bible Society; and, in return, that Society 
liberally supplies us with the Scriptures. — Another impediment to the 
Romish Missions in Mahomedan Countries, arose from their unceas- 
ing spirit of contention with the native Christian Churches : they en- 
tered the East, professing Amity, but claiming subjection to the Papal 
Supremacy; and those, whom they should have secured as Allies, 
they converted into Enemies : forfeiting thus all rational title to success ; 
and too often, in fact, presenting to Mahomedans a spectacle of derision, 
and to genuine Christians an object of grief, indignation, and shame. 
We shall not thus address our Brethren of the Eastern Churches : we 
were not the first to embrace and pay honour to the Christian Revela- 
tion: to them, we owe the rudiments of our Christian Education: 
we caught the living coal from their altars. When, therefore, the 
Missionary Soul shall have been poured out in large measure, by the 
Holy Spirit of God, on our National Church, their Prelates and 
Clergy will be hailed by ours — their friendship will be cultivated, that 
we may all unite in eclipsing the Crescent by the Cross; in building 
up a spiritual Jerusalem ; and in elevating the wretched posterity of 
Ham to a participation in the evangelical blessings of the descendants 
of Shem and Japheth. Such are our plans; and, labouring in faith and 
prayer, w r e cannot doubt of full success, in the appointed season," 



REMARKS ON THE SITE OF NAZARETH. 165 

with our servant, and preached in Italian. In the 
evening*, we had brotherly conversation and prayer. 
Our subject was the Christians first love. (Rev.ii.4.) 

REMARKS ON THE SITE OF NAZARETH, ILLUSTRATIVE 
OF LUKE iv. 29, AND JOHN i. 46. 

The following morning we took our departure for 
Tiberias ; but, before quitting the account of Naza- 
reth, the Author will add two observations, relative 
to its situation, which may tend to throw some 
light on passages of Scripture. 

Nazareth is situated on the side, and extends 
nearly to the foot of a hill, which, though not very 
high, is rather steep and overhanging. The eye 
naturally wanders over its summit, in quest of some 
point from which it might probably be that the men 
of this place endeavoured to cast our Saviour down 
(Luke iv. 29) : but in vain: no rock adapted to such 
an object appears. At the foot of the hill is a 
modest simple plain, surrounded by low hills, reach- 
ing in length nearly a mile ; in breadth, near the 
city, a hundred and fifty yards ; but, further on, 
about four hundred yards. On this plain there are 
a few olive-trees and fig-trees ; sufficient, or rather 
scarcely sufficient, to make the spot picturesque. 
Then follows a ravine, which gradually grows deeper 
and narrower ; till, after walking about another 
mile, you find yourself in an immense chasm with 
steep rocks on either side, from whence you behold, 
as it were beneath your feet, and before you, the 
noble Plain of Esdraelon. Nothing can be finer 
than the apparently-immeasurable prospect of this 
Plain, bounded to the south by the mountains of 
Samaria. The elevation of the hills on which the 



163 JOURNAL. 

spectator stands in this ravine is very great ; and 
the whole scene, when we saw it, was clothed in 
the most rich mountain -blue colour that can be 
conceived. At this spot, on the right-hand of the 
ravine, is shewn the rock to which the men of 
Nazareth are supposed to have conducted our Lord, 
for the purpose of throwing him down. With the 
Testament in our hands, we endeavoured to ex- 
amine the probabilities of the spot ; and I confess 
there is nothing in it which excites a scruple of 
incredulity in my mind. The rock here is perpen- 
dicular for about fifty feet, down which space it 
would be easy to hurl a person who should be 
unawares brought to the summit ; and his perishing 
would be a very certain consequence. That the 
spot might be at a considerable distance from the 
city, is an idea not inconsistent with St. Luke's 
account ; for the expression, thrusting Jesus out of 
the city, and leading him to the brow of the hill on 
which their city teas built, gives fair scope for 
imagining, that, in their rage and debate, the Naza- 
renes might, without originally intending his murder, 
press upon him for a considerable distance after 
they had quitted the Synagogue. The distance, as 
already noticed, from modern Nazareth to this spot 
is scarcely two miles — a space, which, in the fury of 
persecution, might soon be passed over. Or should 
this appear too considerable, it is by no means cer- 
tain but that Nazareth may at that time have ex- 
tended through the principal part of the plain, 
whicli I have described as lying before the modern 
town : in this case, the distance passed over might 
not exceed a mile. It remains only to note the 
expression—//^ brow of the hill, on which their city 



REMARKS ON THE SITE OF NAZARETH. 16? 

ivas built : this, according to the modem aspect of 
the spot, would seem to be the hill north of the 
town, on the lower slope of which the town is built: 
but I apprehend the word hill to have in this, as it 
has in very many other passages of Scripture, a 
much larger sense ; denoting sometimes a range of 
mountains, and in some instances a whole moun- 
tainous district. In all these cases the singular 
word "Hill" "Gebel," is used, according to the 
idiom of the language of this country. Thus, 
Gebel Car my I, or Mount Carmel, is a range of 
mountains : Gebel Lib-nan, or Mount Lebanon, is 
a mountainous district of more than fifty miles in 
length: Gebel ez-Zeitim, the Mount of Olives, is 
certainly, as will be hereafter noted, a considerable 
tract of mountainous country. And thus any person, 
coming from Jerusalem and entering on the Plain 
of Esdraelon, would, if asking the name of that 
bold line of mountains which bounds the north side 
of the Plain, be informed that it was Gebel Ndsra, 
the Hill of Nazareth; though, in English, we should 
call them the Mountains of Nazareth. Now the 
spot shewn as illustrating Luke iv. 29 is, in fact, on 
the very brow of this lofty ridge of mountains; in 
comparison of which, the hill upon which the 
modern town is built is but a gentle eminence. 
I can see, therefore, no reason for thinking other- 
wise, than that this may be the real scene where our 
Divine Prophet, Jesus, experienced so great a dis- 
honour from the men of his own country, and of his 
own kindred. 

Another passage relative to this place, namely, 
the question of Nathanael (John i. 46) — Can there 
any good thing come out of Nazareth? — which seems 



108 JOURNAL. 

to have been almost proverbial, is not, to my mind, 
well accounted for by any Expositor that I have 
seen. Some have attributed the phrase to that 
scorn, with which Galilee was viewed by the Jews ; 
who held that out of Galilee ariseth no Prophet 
(John vii. 52) : but Nathanael, himself a Galilean, 
being of Cana, was not likely to have quoted this 
reproach : nor does there seem any propriety, even 
if he admitted and quoted the reproach, in the idea 
of his fixing it upon another contiguous town of his 
own district. Others refer to the base conduct of 
the men of Nazareth toward our Lord, as sufficiently 
proving that it must have been a place of very vile 
character. Still the question remains, Whence 
should Nazareth acquire this bad repute with its 
neighbours ; and that to so high a degree, as to 
merit the severe question of Nathanael ? Perhaps 
there may have been circumstances, to us unknown, 
in its history, the knowledge of which would at once 
clear up the point*. In the absence of such infor- 
mation, it has occurred to me as no unlikely conjec- 
ture, that the very position of this town might, in 
some measure, account for its ill character. It was 
a kind of frontier-town. It was frontier in three 

* Whitby, in his Notes on Matthew ii. 23, illustrating also John i. 46, 
quotes from Buxtorff and Abarbinel, that " there was among the Jews 
a celebrated thief, called Ben Nezer ; and, in allusion to him, they 
gave this name to Christ. So Abarbinel saith; * The little horn men- 
tioned Daniel vii. 8, is Ben Nezer, that is, Jesus of Nazareth.' And 
this title of Nazarean, both the Jews and the enemies of Chistianity 
gave always, by way of contempt, to our Jesus." This single fact 
of one notorious thief, named from Nazareth, does not seem sufficient, 
to have, alone, established the bad character of the town. It is ob- 
servable, however, that it accords with the view taken by the Author 
of the probable manner in which Nazareth obtained its pre-eminence in 
infamy. This celebrated thief was, no doubt, one among many of 
that chaiacter. 



REMARKS ON THE SITE OF NAZARETH. 109 

directions — toward Samaria to the south: a region 
notorious for iniquity, and frequent revolts— toward 
the land of the Philistines on the south-west — and, 
on the west, toward the maritime city, peopled by 
Heathens, Acre. Between these three regions and 
Nazareth, there is little more than the broad sweep 
of the Plains of Esdraelon and Acre. These Plains 
lie more or less at the feet of the mountains of 
Nazareth ; although the Plain of Acre does not so 
nearly approach them, as the Plain of Esdraelon. 

In the rear of Nazareth, northward and eastward, 
are the peaceful towns and plains of Galilee. Now 
in addition to the bad character of the Samaritans, 
the inhabitants of all the sea-coast were notoriously 
flagitious. They were left, as we are expressly told 
(Judges iii. 1 — 6), to prove the Israelites, and that 
the generations of the Children of Israel might learn 
war. An evil neighbourhood this for Nazareth! 
The men of Nazareth might, in such a vicinity, 
easily be ensnared into heathenish affinity: (Judges 
iii. 6.) Their worst characters, fleeing from justice 
or revenge, would easily find the nearest asylum, 
at a distance of from twenty to thirty miles, in 
Nazareth. In every quarrel or war, between 
Galilee on the one side, and, on the other side, either 
Samaria or the Philistines and the inhabitants of the 
coast, Nazareth would stand the foremost. In 
commerce with the maritime towns, Nazareth would 
lie constantly exposed to the temptations to break 
the Sabbath, mentioned in Nehemiah xiii. 16. Thus, 
by degrees, might this frontier- town become a nest 
of the very worst characters, and addicted to the 
worst sins ; and its condition would probably be 
the more notorious, from the contrast which it 



170 JOURNAL. 

would form to the better-protected and more peace- 
able inhabitants of the interior of Galilee*. 



TIBERIAS. 

Monday, Nov. 10, 1823— Set off for Tiberias. On 
the way, at about two-hours-and-a-half from Naza- 
reth, we stopped at Khan es-Sook, or the "Khan of 
the Fair," situated not far from the foot of Mount 
Tabor. Here are two or three nearly-ruined khansf. 
The place derives its name from the circumstance of 
a fair being held here every Monday. We estimated 
that about a thousand souls were present; and there 
was much cattle. A Caravan from Damascus 
arrived, and passed on. We had aimed at this spot 
in our journey, with a view to selling Arabic Scrip- 
tures; but could not succeed : the men of Nazareth 
were the principal merchants in the fair, and had 
already seen them in Nazareth. 

At length, about the sultry hour of three o'clock, 
we arrived at the summit of the mountain, which 
commands a view of Tiberias ; and of the Lake, 

* The Author feels, that, in hazarding these and other conjectural 
illustrations of Scripture, he has need to bespeak the indulgence of 
every critical reader. At the same time, he ventures to recommend 
to all future Visitants of the Holy Land, to bestow an excursive and 
diligent attention on every scene and circumstance, which may aid 
this interesting branch of Biblical Elucidation. A double reward 
will attend on this temper of mind : while the Truth of the Scripture- 
Records will become more fully demonstrated, the devout spirit will 
often melt with tenderness at the various intimate memorials of our 
Lord's condescending love; who, though he icas rich, yet for our sakes 
became poor — who, in every circumstance, even in that of the town 
where He dwelt, and which now gives its name, in this country, to 
His followers, voluntarily made himself of no reputation* 

f I have been since informed, by a Maltese Priest who has visited 
this spot, that these ruins were formerly Castles belonging to the 
Knights of St. Jolm of Jerusalem, at the time when they possessed Acre. 



TIBERIAS. 171 

"called variously in Scripture, the Sea of Tiberias, 
the Sea of Galilee, and the Lake of Gennesaret ; 
known also by the name of Cinneroth. The town 
of Tiberias is surrounded with walls and towers, 
such as to form a very imposing scene at first view. 
On nearer observation, however, their insignificance 
is apparent: a few cannon would put them down in 
an instant ; though, to an assault from the natives, 
they would present, probably, a very long and 
effectual resistance. The town itself has many 
parts in a very ruinous and filthy condition. Making 
allowance for much space which is vacant, we 
judged the population might be one thousand souls : 
but, considering that a large portion is peopled by 
Jews, who crowd together in very little space, pos- 
sibly the number may be greater. We remarked 
two Minarets. As we approached the gate of the 
city, we were met by two Polish Jews, whose cos- 
tume and extremely filthy garb announced to us 
that we were entering upon Hebrew Scenes. 

We rode at once, as we had been recommended 
to do, to the house of Seignior Rafaele Piciotto, an 
aged Jewish Gentleman, who formerly held the 
office of Austrian Consul at Aleppo ; and, being- 
succeeded by his son, has retired hither to pass the 
remainder of his days peacefully, on ground con- 
sidered by the Jews as holy. We had every reason 
to be grateful to him for his civil attentions to us. 
We were accommodated with a clean upper room, 
and entertained hospitably at his table. 

Toward evening, we witnessed the scene of his 
whole household performing prayers. About thirty 
persons came at this hour into the Court, and united 
in repeating the Service; in conducting which 



172 JOURNAL. 

Rabbi Samuel, who has married his step-daughter, 
was the chief leader. It was very affecting, at one 
part, to view them turning their faces toward Jesu- 
salem — bowing, and lifting up their voices in fervent 
petitions. It reminded us of Daniels supplications 
when in Babylon; who had his windows open 
toward Jerusalem, and kneeled upon his knees three 
times a day, and prayed : (Daniel vi. 10.) After sun- 
set the table was prepared, and we sat down to a 
plentiful supper ; at which it gratified us to see 
females joining the circle — a sight banished from 
Turkish and Christian Houses in this country ; but 
not from Jewish. These were, the Consul's wife 
and step- daughter. The Consul himself professes 
to know very little of his countrymen in this place. 
His son-in-law, however, is more communicative. 
The Mahomedans in this place are more numerous, 
he says, than the Jews: but when it comes to the 
question of actual numbers, you will rarely find 
two men agreeing in their account. Rabbi Samuel 
stated the Sephartim, or Spanish Jews, at seventy or 
eighty houses — say four hundred souls ; and the 
Ashkenasim, or Polish Jews, at a hundred and fifty 
houses — say seven hundred and fifty souls; but an- 
other said that the Sephartim w ere ninety houses, and 
the Ashkenasim ninety-six. Rabbi Samuel also 
says that there are no Jews here of the Sect of the 
Peru shim, but that all are Hassidim. 

Tuesday, Nov. 11,1 823 — Having a fever upon me, 
I was unable to move far to day; and therefore 
limited my excursion to the Baths of Tiberias, while 
Mr. Fisk rode to the south of the Lake, where the 
River Jordan issues from it. The Baths of Tiberias, 
so much celebrated by many authors, are just a 



TIBERIAS. J73 

mile south of the town, and about fifty feet from the 
margin of the Lake. On the way thither we passed 
the Jewish Burying-ground. 

On every side, small ruins of walls, columns, and 
foundations indicate the former extent of Tiberias. 
The stone of these ruins is very black, so that there 
is nothing about them of the splendour of antiquity; 
nothing but an air of mourning and desolation : in 
this circumstance they differ so widely from the 
magnificent Antiquities of Egypt and Greece, as to 
leave the most sombre impression on the fancy: 
they are perfectly funereal. Yet, even here, Im- 
perial splendour was once exhibited in the reign of 
Tiberius ; and, three hundred years after, Jewish 
Literature flourished in this spot, and some of 
the most learned Hebrew Commentators on Sacred 
Scripture formed a kind of University in this city. 

The earth all around the Baths is bubbling up 
with streamlets of water, emitting a most powerful 
sulphureous smell. We placed the thermometer 
indifferent spots where the water gushes out; and 
found it rise to the various heights of 131, 132, 138, 
1 39, of Fahrenheit. In the Bath, where, from stand- 
ing some time, it cools, its temperature was 110. 
An humble building is erected over the Bath, con- 
taining mean apartments on one side for men, on 
the other for women; and many persons come from 
far, to be healed of their diseases in these waters. 
On our arrival, we found a moving assemblage of 
persons, in number about ten at a time : we imme- 
diately had an open window-seat cleared for our 
use, where we rested for a few minutes to take some 
refreshment. Mr. Fisk then set off with the prin- 
cipal guide, to see the junction of the Lake with the 
River Jordan, 



174 JOURNAL. 

After spending some time in writing till my mind 
was weary, I left the Bath, and sauntered two or 
three hundred paces to seek a little shade by the side 
of a small fragment of ruins. The other guide, know- 
ing that I was indisposed, seemed to think it his 
duty to follow me step by step : he then sat down, 
much more quietly and respectfully than people of 
this country are often apt to do. I must, however, say, 
that although noise and rudeness are their general 
characteristics; yet there is, occasionally, in their 
way of treating strangers, a considerateness, which 
almost amounts to politeness. 

The composure which came over my feverish 
spirits at this hour was inexpressibly refreshing. I 
laid myself down upon the ground; and, resting my 
head upon a stone near me, drew a little coolness 
from the soil : while the simple train of reflections, 
which naturally sprung up from the scene around me, 
added much to my enjoyment. At a great distance 
to the north, was the mountainous horizon, on the 
summit of which stands Safet, glistening with its 
noble castle : it is not improbably supposed that our 
Saviour had this spot in His eye, and directed the 
attention of His Disciples to it, when He said 
A city, that is set on a hill, cannot be hid: for it is full 
in view from the Mount of the Beatitudes, as well as 
from this place ; and, indeed, seems to command all 
the country round to a great extent. Tracing, at a 
glance, the margin of this simple Lake, on the oppo- 
site or eastern side, the eye rests on the inhospitable 
Country of the Gadarenes — inhospitable to this day; 
for my guide, after long silence, perceiving my at- 
tention directed that way, begins a long tale about 
the dangers of that part, the untamed and savage 
character of the mountaineers, and the extreme 



TIBERIAS. 175 

hazard of attempts to visit them : few travellers, in 
fact, venture there : but, seeing that his account is 
not very congenial to my feelings at this moment, he 
has dropt his story. Close above my head, an Arab 
is come to spread upon the ruins his tattered clothes ; 
which he has just washed in the Lake, that they may 
dry in the sun : and, at a distance just perceivable, 
is another indolent peasant, sauntering by the water's 
edge, and singing at intervals a poor Arab song; 
which, though not " most musical," has neverthe- 
less the charm of being "most melancholy." But 
that which awakens the tenderest emotions on view- 
ing such a scene as this, is the remembrance of ONE, 
who formerly so often passed this way ; and never 
passed without leaving, by His words and actions, 
some memorial of His Divine Wisdom and Love. 
Here, or in this neighbourhood, most of His mighty 
works were done: and, in our daily Religious Ser- 
vices, we have read, with the most intense interest, 
those passages of the Gospel which refer to these re- 
gions. However uncertain other traditionary geo- 
graphical notices may be, here no doubt interrupts 
our enjoyment, in tracing the Redeemer's footsteps. 
This, and no other, is the Sea of Galilee — in its 
dimensions, as I should judge, resembling exactly 
the size of the Isle of Malta, about twenty miles in 
length, twelve in breadth, and sixty in circumference. 
Here Jesus called the Sons of Zebedee, from mend- 
ing their nets, to become fishers of men. Here he 
preached to the multitudes crowding to the water's 
edge, himself putting off a little from the shore in 
Simon Peter's boat. But there is not a single boat 
now upon the Lake, to remind us of its former use. 
Yonder, on the right, must have been the very spot, 



170 JOURNAL. 

where, in the middle of their passage from this side 
toward Bethsaida and Capernaum, the Disciples 
were affrighted at seeing Jesus walk upon the water — 
where He gently upbraided the sinking faith of Peter 
— where he said to the winds and the waves, Peace! 
be still: and the sweet serenity which now rests upon 
the surface is the very same stillness, which then 
succeeded. Here, finally, it was, that Jesus appeared, 
the third time after His Resurrection, to His Disci- 
ples, as is related by St. John (chap, xxi); and put 
that question to the zealous, backslidden, but repent- 
ant Peter- — Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? — 
one question, thrice repeated ; plainly denoting what 
the Saviour requires of all, who profess to be His : 
and followed up by that solemn charge, Feed my 
lambs — Feed my sheep! While I gaze on the scene, 
and muse on the affecting records connected with it, 
faith in the Gospel-history seems almost realised to 
sight: and, though I cannot comprehend \\\dX great 
mystery of Godliness — God manifest in the flesh ; 
yet, believing it, all my feelings of wonder and ado- 
ration are called into a more intimate exercise. 

I was thus indulging in holy recollections, and 
expecting to* prolong them fully another hour, my 
spirits being greatly relieved by the stillness and 
coolness of this short retirement ; when the guide, 
who reclined near me all the time, signified, by the 
motion of his hand, that our companions were in 
view. I turned to look, and was pleased to find it 
so. They presently joined us, having ridden quick 
to their destination, and immediately returned. 
Though my meditations had been sweet, yet the 
sight of a friend and a brother, even after so short an 
absence, was to my weak spirits very animating ; 



TIBERIAS. 177 

and we immediately talked over, with much vivacity 
and cheerfulness, all that we had seen and felt. 

We staid some time longer at the Bath ; and then, 
returning to Tiberias, sought out the Christian 
Priest. He has under him from thirty to forty 
houses ; and his Church, which we visited, is by 
them supposed to be built on the site of St. Peter s 
house. They are Greek Catholics, and under the 
" Terra Santa." We furnished the Priest with some 
Sacred Scriptures ; but there was little zeal in him 
to receive them. 

At the house of the Consul, we produced to the 
Jews the Hebrew New-Testament ; but neither was 
this very acceptable to them. I was especially 
struck to see the readiness with which one youth 
shewed to another, at once, the twentieth verse of 
the First Chapter of St. Matthew : he quickly found 
the passage, as one who had been early instructed to 
deny the Messiah : they were in our room : he read 
the passage with an air of scorn, made his com- 
panion understand his meaning, and then threw the 
book down ; on which they both departed. Itseemed 
to me no inapt illustration of the crime charged on 
the consciences of the Jewish People by Stephen 
(Acts vii.51)— Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in 
heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as 
your fathers did, so do ye. Their will is, to have 
a Man for their Messiah, not a Divine Person, 
Truly, indeed, has St. Paul said (1 Cor. xii. 3) — No 
man, speaking by the Spirit of God, calleth Jesus ac- 
cursed; and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, 
but by the Holy Ghost. 

S We feel ourselves greatly at a loss, in talking to 
these misguided people. At supper, we sat down 

N 



178 JOURNAL. 

with them, surrounded by Italian, Spanish, German, 
Hebrew, Rabbinical, and Arab tongues. Of these, 
the Italian was talked only by the aged Consul ; who 
is almost deaf, and apparently quite indifferent to 
religious topics. Evidently, a Missionary to the Jews 
should have, not only a very peculiar line of educa- 
tion, but he must give himself almost wholly to them. 

Wednesday , Nov. 12, 1823 — After a very feverish 
and wakeful night, I was quite unable to ride to the 
ruins of Capernaum : while Mr. Fisk did this, I staid 
within doors the whole morning. He brings back 
a very meagre account, indeed, of the remains of 
that city ; once exalted unto heaven, but now barely 
leaving a relique sufficient to attest its former 
existence. He found Bethsaida, also, existing in 
little more than the name. 

In the afternoon, we visited the Synagogues of 
Tiberias, and found them to be as follows : — 

The first which we visited was about fifty feet 
square, and belonged to the Sephartim : very few 
persons were in it, at the time of our visit. Close 
by its side is another, which is long, but very nar- 
row : we went from the one direct to the other; and 
found this second one quite full, so that we had 
some difficulty in walking through it : the Polish fur 
cap distinguishes these Jews from the Spanish. The 
third Synagogue, to which we were taken, was 
called a College ; and is used also as a Syna- 
gogue: behind it was a very small room, appro- 
priated to the use of the women, having its entrance 
from a different street : above the College, the upper 
floor consisted of two rooms, in which we counted 
(by calculation) fifteen hundred Hebrew books : 
those who conducted us, said that they had a great 



TIBERIAS. 179 

many in boxes ; as many, in all, as ten thousand. 
These three were all the Synagogues shewn to us. 
I should add, however, the domestic Synagogue of 
the Consul : in this, I calculated about a thousand 
volumes. 

In the Synagogue of the Consul, his son-in-law, 
Rabbi Samuel, was teaching two youths of the 
family. The rapid and vehement manner, in which 
he communicated and they received his instruction, 
was very striking. All spoke at the same time, with 
a high pitch of voice ; scarcely allowing space to 
catch their breath ; with distortions of countenance, 
and flashes of the eye almost hysterical. It seemed 
to me, that, for the purpose of teaching absurd and 
false notions, this manner was very well adapted ; 
as it gave no time for thinking on what was learning : 
and we know very well, that when persons have 
once, with much pains and self-sacrifice, learnt a 
great deal of trash, they rarely extricate their minds 
from its injurious influence. They seem, in fact, to 
lose the power of estimating the utility or inutility of 
different kinds of knowledge ; and value their own 
literary hoard, not because it is practically useful, 
but because it has been dearly paid for, and because 
they possess a sort of property in it. 

The Sephartim speak Spanish : the Ashkenasim 
speak German, Polish, and Russian. All intermin- 
gle a kind of Rabbinical jargon. Hebrew, Rabbi- 
nical Hebrew, and Arabic are, in various degrees, 
spoken by them. From these data a Missionary to 
the Jews may perceive what acquirements are expe- 
dient for his work. At the fewest, three languages 
appear to be essential — Spanish, German, and 

N 2 



180 JOURNAL. 

Hebrew ; while, for a frequent Traveller or stated 
Resident in this country, Arabic is indispensable. 

We were very much struck with the remarks of the 
Consul, in the evening, on the subject of European 
Protection. When he quitted his office at Aleppo, 
he procured a Firman from the Porte, giving him 
the strongest protection for himself and all his de- 
pendants. " I wish," said lie, kindling with a degree 
of animation, which proved that the feebleness of 
age had not extinguished the love of life, ' ' I wish 
you could read Turkish, that I might shew you my 
Firman; it is so strong : it cuts like a sword." We 
could not but feel compassion for the man, who, 
living in this land of wrongs, clings to such a docu- 
ment as his sole security against extortions, oppres- 
sion, insults, and violence ; which would, otherwise, 
be heaped upon him by every Turkish Superior, 
wherever he might be. They, who breathe the air 
of liberty, and walk erect in open day, and at night 
retire to a home, which, however humble its dimen- 
sions, yet the common parlance of their country deno- 
minates their castle — such persons can ill compre- 
hend, how or why it is, that, in Turkey, the sole 
guarantee against the most unmerited imprisonments 
and exactions, is a piece of parchment sealed with 
the signet of the Grand Seignior. Yet thus it is. 

SAFET. 

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 1823 — This morning we set 
off for Safet — the city set on a hill. Our road, for 
an hour, lay along the margin of the Lake. To the 
north of Tiberias, there are likewise some ruins ; 
which shew the city anciently to have extended 



SAFET. 181 

beyond its present bounds, northward as well as 
southward. 

At length, having taken the last draught of water, 
which we were to taste for some hours, at a small 
streamlet which winds its way into the Lake, we en- 
tered on a continued series of hills leading to Safet. 
As we ascended hill after hill, we had the scene of 
the Lake fully beneath our view ; its southern half 
occasionally obscured by black clouds, discharging 
tremendously heavy rain. We feared lest our excur- 
sion should be spoiled, as one minute's fall of such a 
storm would not have left us a dry thread : happily, 
however, it did not reach us. 

Our journey from Tiberias to Safet was all on the 
ascent. When we were in the middle of it, a keen 
north wind met us full in the face ; " a nipping, and 
an eager air," inspiring the lungs with new vigour, 
and making me for the time quite forget my late 
fever. 

On reaching Safet, our guide, who is brother to 
the Lady Superior of the Latins at Nazareth, and a 
native, manifested the greatest repugnance to enter- 
ing the Quarter of the Jews : but, as we had our ob- 
ject, we took our course thither ; leaving him to find 
a place of rest elsewhere. After much delay, and 
many inquiries on both sides of the streets, we 
reached the house of Rabbi Israel, one of the Peru- 
shim, and chief of that Sect in this place. He him- 
self was gone to Jerusalem : but his Wife and Son, 
and Baruch the Shemas or Deacon, welcomed us, 
and gave us the best room in their house : it was, 
however, very wretched and cold. 

In the evening, some of the Jews called upon us. 
One of them complained, most bitterly, of the treat- 



182 JOURNAL. 

nient which he had received at the last festival of Suc- 
coth : he had brpught it, indeed, on himself ; having 
gone to some excess in wine : a Mahomedan laid to 
his charge the crime of blaspheming the Mahomedan 
Religion ; and, without further witness or inves- 
tigation, the Governor ordered him for punishment ; 
when he suffered, or, (to use his own expressions, 
literally translated,) he ate five hundred stripes of 
the bastinado: " Ho mangiato cinque cento basto- 
nate." Another, more quiet, reminded him, that a 
soft tongue breaketh the bone ; and that it was his 
own loquacity, which had brought him into mischief, 
and might do so again : but the injured man loudly 
maintained his right to have redress as a Russian 
Subject; and asked us, how his right might be 
maintained : he has, however, very little chance of 
this ; the Agent for Russian Subjects being an Aus- 
trian Vice-Consul at Acre. They all complain of 
the severity to w hich they are liable from the ruling 
powers. 

The number of Jewish Families at this place, they 
stated at four hundred ; of which the Ashkenasim 
and Sephartim are in about equal numbers ; that is, 
two hundred families of each. Since the war in 
Turkey, few venture to come from Poland, so that 
the Hebrew Population is rather on the decrease. 
They said there were sixteen Synagogues in the 
place : but they are so contradictory in their 
accounts, that this, the highest account which they 
give, I suspect to be exaggerated. 

We produced the Hebrew Testament, with which 
they seemed to be already acquainted, but for which 
they manifested little good inclination. 

In the room which we occupied we counted five 



SAFET. 183 

hundred books, all Hebrew ; the library of Rabbi 
Samuel. 

Friday) Nov. 14, 1823— After a night of piercing 
cold, we rose to make some further examination of 
the state of the town: but, as we had to depart at 
noon, and dine previously, our remarks were very 
rapid. 

We called on a Christian, who was in a miserable 
shop, and asked about their numbers in this place. 
There are a few, a very few Christians here ; not 
strictly resident, but rather refugees from Acre, 
Sour, and Saide. They are Greeks ; and they 
move about from place to place, exercising different 
trades to gain a little money. Their number had 
been stated to us, by the Jews, at thirty or forty ; 
but we afterward were induced, from what we saw, 
to think that the tenth part of that number might be 
nearer the truth. We sold and gave them two or 
three Arabic Psalters ; to which, however, we found 
it difficult to induce them to pay much attention. 

This is Market-day ; and we computed about 
five hundred persons, of different descriptions, 
stirring in the Market. 

We next ascended the castle-hill ; and here, what- 
ever disgust we had conceived from the narrowness 
and dirtiness of the streets and houses of Safet, all 
was obliterated, by the magnificent prospect from 
this spot. Although the castle is in ruins, yet part 
of it still affords a residence to the Governor : the 
extent of the walls, the perfect condition of some 
parts of them, and the high glittering towers visible 
to all the region round about, shew that this must 
have been a spot often contested in war. But that, 
which principally fills the mind, is a scene, which no 



184 JOURNAL. 

puny powers of man can either create or demolish. 
The view to the south and on either side, compre- 
hending about one-third of the circle, presents the 
most surprising assemblage of mountains which can 
be conceived. It is, if such an expression may be 
allowed, one vast plain of hills. To a distance 
of twenty or thirty miles toward Nazareth, and 
nearly the same toward Mount Tabor and Mount 
Hermon, the far-spreading country beneath is 
covered with ranges of mountains : which, having 
passed over them, we knew to be ascents and de- 
scents far from inconsiderable ; but which, from the 
eminence of Safet, appear only as bold undulations 
of the surface of the earth. To the left, are the in- 
hospitable and unvisited mountains eastward of the 
River Jordan. In the centre of the distant scene, 
appears the beautiful Lake of Tiberias, fully seen 
from one extremity to the other ; and, in the back- 
ground, stretching beyond the utmostpower of vision, 
are the Mountains of Gilead. On a clear day the 
view, in that direction, must be more than forty miles. 

We descended from this elevated spot, to pay a 
visit of ceremony to the Governor. Thence we re- 
turned to the Jewish Quarter, to examine as many 
of the Synagogues as our time would allow. Of 
these, we visited five. Of the Hassidim, one Syna- 
gogue ; and one Maddras, or College : for, with this 
title, do they dignify a room, which will scarcely 
contain twenty persons, and which is filthy beyond 
expression ; but, certainly, a few appeared here to 
be in the very act of poring over Talmudical Books. 
For the Perushim. there is one place, which is used 
both as Synagogue and Maddras ; and one other 
place, which has at least some pretensions to its 



SAFET. 185 

title of Madeiras, as it contains a thousand Hebrew 
Volumes. Lastly, one Synagogue of the Sephar- 
tim : this was by far the best and largest of the 
places which we saw. We were then under the 
necessity of closing our researches, as it was high 
time to prepare for departure. 

From the view which we had of the town when on 
the castle, we judged, that if there are in the Jewish 
Quarter the number of families which they state, 
namely, four hundred, there would be about one 
thousand Mahomedan Houses : for, as they occupy 
distinct quarters, it is easy to compare their super- 
ficial area: the Jews, however, state them at fifteen 
hundred families. The population of Safet might be 
stated, in round numbers, at seven thousand souls, 
We observed four Minarets. 

Owing to the steepness of the hill, on the slope of 
which some parts of Safet are built, the roofs of the 
lower houses form, in a degree, the pathway of pas- 
sengers. A story is told which illustrates the condi- 
tion of such houses. A camel once passing over 
such a path, the roof gave way; and the camel 
falling into the house below, broke his leg. The 
owner of the house sued for damages against the 
owner of the camel; and, vice versa, the owner of 
the camel claimed from the other the value of his 
animal, whose services were entirely lost to him. 
The sentence of the Turkish Cadi was given in 
favour of the owner of the camel; on the plea, that 
the tenant of the house knew that his roof was a 
public path-way, and ought therefore to have kept 
it in proper repair to prevent the occurrence of such 
an accident. The story may be correct or not : it, 
however, sufficiently explains the state of many of 
the path-ways in Safet 



180 



JOURNAL. 



IIATTYN. 

We departed at twelve o'clock \ and, taking a 
road more westerly than that by which we came, 
bent our steps toward Nazareth. That evening, 
after six hours' ride, we reached Hattyn ; a small 
village at the foot of the mountain, called the Mount 
of the Beatitudes— Gebel ct-TooMt. It has one 
Minaret. Here are about eighty houses ; of which 
ten are Greek Catholics', and the rest Mussulmans'. 
We rested at the house of the principal Christian. 
He had only one room, in which he, his wife, their 
children, and some sick persons, were closely shut 
up ; and in which he offered us a place where to 
lay our heads : but we preferred to occupy a little 
mud hut adjacent, the roof of which consisted of 
branches of trees, admitting the bright rays of the 
moon. We gave him some Sacred Scriptures, as 
he said they were all too poor to pay for them. 

MOUNT OF THE BEATITUDES. 

Saturday, Nov. 15, 1823 — At early dawn we set 
off from Hattyn, to ascend the Mount of the Beati- 
tudes. The road was steep, but very shady and re- 
freshing ; and, as we went, we read aloud the first 
twelve verses of the Fifth Chapter of St. Matthew, 
and the Thirteenth Chapter of the First Epistle to 
the Corinthians. Our minds were raised to the en- 
joyment of those heavenly truths. We could not 
but feel how infinitely inferior all the maxims of 
sages and philosophers are, to those brief and simple 
descriptions of the graces of humility, meekness, 
gentleness, purity of heart, and patience; of faith, 
hope, and love ! 



MOUNT OF THE BEATITUDES. 187 

" Why is it," I asked, " that the very scenes be- 
come endeared to us, as we read the portions of 
Sacred Scripture relating to them ; so that they are 
rendered much more lovely than mere scenery could 
make them V 9 My companion illustrated the feeling 
of religious association aptly, by putting the case 
of two amiable persons, " for both of whom," he 
said " we might conceive a very warm affection ; 
but, if one were pious, and the other not, how far 
more congenial would our attachment be to him, 
whose heart was one with ours in the love of God ! 
He is, in the truest sense, our friend — a Friend, in 
common, with us, of God — a Friend for eternity ! 
We may know him only for a short space of time 
on earth, but we shall know him hereafter for ever. 
So, to compare inanimate things with spiritual, our 
attachment to this spot is heightened by the remem- 
brance of the Divine Discourses once uttered here, 
and which seem to make it hallowed ground : there 
are other scenes equally or more lovely, in the 
various countries which we have visited; but, to 
this, we are united by a kind of religious endear- 
ment." 

With such reflections we entered the Plain of 
Galilee, at its east end. Being arrived at this ele- 
vated Plain, we find that the Mount of Beatitudes, 
which closes as it were a kind of barrier on the east, 
is not on this side so high as on the other side it ap- 
peared to be. The Plain, in fact, rises at the end by 
a gentle slope into two small hills, on either of 
which it is probable enough that our Saviour sat 
when He delivered the Sermon on the Mount. They 
are nearly close together, and would take a person 
not more than five minutes to ascend them. The 



188 JOURNAL. 

Plain itself abounded in flowers ; and, although we 
were not able to say, that, among these, we could 
discern the lilies of the field, to which our Saviour 
directed the thoughts of his hearers, yet my eye was 
particularly delighted by the sight of a flower not 
very common in England, the purple autumnal 
crocus. I have observed it flourishing, at this 
season, in every part of Mount Lebanon : and here, 
at this moment, it was expanding its beautiful 
petals to as bright a sun as ever lighted up the blue 
firmament. And if our Heavenly Father so clothe 
the grass of the field, will He not much more clothe 
us? Have not we that same evidence of His care, 
exhibited to our senses on this unexhausted soil, 
which the Apostles themselves had ? It was impos- 
sible, supposing this to be the spot, or near to it, 
where these words were uttered, not to seek some 
collateral proof, which, however faint, might serve 
to illustrate the topography of the scene. 

I have already alluded to the striking view from 
this place, of Safet, the city set on a hill. But my 
mind was more particularly led to trace the course 
which ourSaviour took after delivering this Sermon. 
If we compare the accounts given in Matthew viii. 
1 — 13, Mark hi. 13 — 19, and Luke vi. throughout, and 
vii. 1 — 10, we shall be led to judge that our Lord 
had been already preaching at various towns in the 
region between Nazareth and Capernaum ; the very 
region, which we are now traversing. On the night 
previous to delivering the Sermon on the Mount, 
He retired to a mountain to pray, and continued 
all night in prayer to God : at day-break, He 
chooses His twelve Disciples : He then descends 
into the plain, and is surrounded by a great mill- 



MOUNT OF THE BEATITUDES. 189 

litude of people, who were continually thronging 
after Him : then, lifting up His eyes on His Dis- 
ciples, He commences His discourse, with ^Blessed 
are ye poor fyc. This is St. Luke's account, who 
does not mention our Lord's re-ascending a mountain 
previously to His beginning His Discourse ; which, 
nevertheless, from St. Matthew, v. 1, we are led to 
infer that He did. When he had ended all his 
sayings . . . he entered into Capernaum (Luke vii. 1) : 
He descended, therefore, from the Mount of the 
Beatitudes, toward the Lake of Tiberias. Now 
from this very spot, there is a road, passing through 
a ravine, direct to the Lake of Tiberias ; and, from 
thence, to the present site of Capernaum, the dis- 
tance hence to the Lake being about two-hours-and- 
a-half. This ravine is the caravan-road from Da- 
mascus to the south. Although no absolutely cer- 
tain evidence is deducible from this sketch, yet we 
felt it heighten our interest in the scene, to trace, as 
nearly as might be, with the Gospels in our hand 
and the very country before us, every step of our 
Lord's course. 

Considerably further on, we arrived at the spot, 
where the Christian guides point out the Corn-field, 
in which the Disciples rubbed the ears of corn and 
ate of them on the Sabbath Day. But here I felt, 
that, to particularize the precise position of a single 
field after a period of eighteen hundred years, by 
exacting rather too much from my powers of belief, 
tends rather to weaken the local enchantment. 
Here, however, the pilgrims, in their sacred route, 
are wont to halt, and read the appropriate portion 
of the Gospel : to which, though we did it not, I 
make no objection, provided they will allow me, as 



100 JOURNAL. 

well as themselves, the title and rank of pilgrim. 
From a distance the tower of Sephoury was now 
distinguishable ; and, soon after, we reached Cana 
of Galilee. 

CANA OF GALILEE. 

Cana is, at present, a very small and poor village. 
With some difficulty we found out the Christian 
Priest. We went with him to his Church, in which 
he shewed us, fixed in the wall, one (as he assured 
us) of those water-pots referred to in St. John ii. 6. 
This I relate because he said so, not because I be- 
lieved in it. On the walls are several Greek and 
Arabic Inscriptions, recording the names of devout 
pilgrims to this place. But my eye was suddenly 
attracted by the sight of Abyssinian Characters, to 
the same effect : the Priest stated that this was 
written by an Abyssinian Priest about four years 
ago, who remained here twenty days : his name was 
Baba Moose* : in the day time, he was constantly in 
the Church, reading ; and, at night, he slept in the 
church-yard, beneath a tree, under the shade of 
which we rested to take some refreshment. 

A small number of Christians gathered round us, 
with whom we conversed, and to whom we sold and 
gave a few copies of the Scriptures. The population 
they stated to be about thirty houses Mussulman, 
and thirty houses Christian, of the Oriental- Greek 
Church. The total number accords with the ap- 
pearance of the village. Evidence of the rite to 
which they belonged, we had in a printed Greek 
paper, hanging up in the Church, signed by Poly- 
carp, Patriarch of Jerusalem, dated 1816; similar 



RETURN TO ESDRAELON. 191 

exactly to the Document mentioned at pp. 25, 26, 
of " Christian Researches in the Mediterranean." 

RETURN TO NAZARETH. 

With this village, now so inconsiderable, but 
where once the glory of the Divine Person of Christ 
was manifested forth to His Disciples, by the first 
miracle which he wrought, we closed our present 
excursion ; arriving at Nazareth, which seemed to 
us, for a moment, like a home, about three o'clock 
in the afternoon. 

PLAIN OF ESDRAELON. 

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 1823— We left Nazareth for 
Jerusalem. 

Our road, for the first three-quarters-of-an-hour, 
lay among the hills which lead to the Plain of 
Esdraelon ; upon which, when we were once de- 
scended, we had no more inconvenience, but rode 
for the most part on level ground, interrupted by 
only gentle ascents and descents. This is that 
" mighty plain" — f^iyoc m$m> as it is called by 
Ancient Writers — which, in every age, has been 
celebrated for so many battles. It was across this 
Plain, that the hosts of Barak chased Sisera and 
his nine hundred chariots of iron ; from Mount 
Tabor to that ancient river, the river Kishon, would 
be directly through the middle of it. At present, 
there is peace ; but not that most visible evidence 
of enduring peace and civil protection, a thriving 
population. We counted, in our road across the 
Plain, only five very small villages, consisting of 
wretched mud-hovels, chiefly in ruins ; and very 



192 JOURNAL. 

few persons moving on the road. We might again 
truly apply to this scene the words of Deborah 
(Judges v. 6,7) — The highways were unoccupied: the 
inhabitants of the villages ceased — they ceased in 
Israel. The soil is extremely rich ; and, in every 
direction, are the most picturesque views — the hills 
of Nazareth to the north — those of Samaria, to the 
south — to the east, the mountains of Tabor and 
Hermon — and Carmel, to the south-west. 

GEN N V N. 

About four o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived 
at the village of Gennyn, which is situated at the 
entrance of one of the numerous vales which lead 
out of the Plain of Esdraelon to the mountainous 
regions of Ephraim. One of these passages would 
be the Valley of Jezreel ; and from the window of 
the khan where we are lodging, we have a clear 
view of the tract Over which the Prophet Elijah 
must have passed, when he girded up his loins, and 
ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. But, 
in the present day, no chariots of Ahab or of Si- 
sera are to be seen — not even a single wheel-carriage, 
of any description whatever. The public wells by 
the road-side have no pulleys on wheels to assist in 
drawing water : for who would expose for public 
use, what his neighbour would have not the least 
scruple in secretly stealing away ? The roads among 
the mountains are, indeed, so neglected — such mere 
single foot-paths — that it is difficult to imagine in 
what way chariots could now convey the traveller 
to Jerusalem, or over the chief part of the Holy 
Land. 

Arriving at Gennyn, we sought out the small body 



NABLOUS. 193 

of Christians here. They have a Priest, and are of 
the Greek Communion ; in number, seven or eight 
houses. Their quarters are extremely mean ; and 
we found much difficulty in gaining attention to our 
Arabic Scriptures. The two principal Christians 
were sitting on the ground with a gaming-board be- 
tween them, playing at a favourite game of chance, 
with shells in the holes of the board ; and seemed 
to regard our visit as a troublesome intrusion. 

NABLOUS, OR NAPOLOSE. 

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 1823 — We setoff, considera- 
bly before day-light, for Nablous. The air was ex- 
tremely keen for the first two hours ; and, gradually, 
when the sun had risen, its burning heat came upon 
us, with a doubly-exhausting effect. 

It was about an hour after mid-day that we had 
our first view of the city of Nablous, romantically 
situated in a deep valley, between the mountains of 
Ebal on our left and Gerizim on the right. There 
is a kind of sublime horror in the lofty, craggy, and 
barren aspect of these two mountains, which seem 
to face each other with an air of defiance ; especially 
as they stand contrasted with the rich valley beneath, 
where the city appears to be imbedded on either 
side in green gardens and extensive olive-grounds — 
rendered more verdant, by the lengthened periods 
of shade which they enjoy from the mountains on 
each side. Of the two, Gerizim is not wholly with- 
out cultivation. 

We had always been informed, that the facility ol 
passing by way of Nablous depended very much 
on the character of the Governor of the city. Our 
case was singular : for we had to learn, what kind of 

o 



194 JOURNAL. 

reception a city without a Governor would give us ; 
the Governor having died this very morning-. On 
coming* within sight of the gate, we perceived a 
numerous company of females, who were singing in 
a kind of recitative, far from melancholy, and heat- 
ing time with their hands. If this be mourning, I 
thought, it is of a strange kind. It had indeed, 
sometimes, more the air of angry defiance. But on 
our reaching the gate, it was suddenly exchanged for 
most hideous plaints and shrieks, which, with the feel- 
ing that we were entering a city at no time celebrated 
for its hospitality, struck a very dismal impression 
upon my mind. They accompanied us a few paces : 
but it soon appeared that the gate was their station ; 
to which, having received nothing from us, they 
returned. We learnt, in the course of the evening, 
that these were only a small detachment of a very 
numerous body of cunning women, who were filling 
the whole city with their cries — taking up a wailing* 
with the design, as of old, to make the eyes of all 
the inhabitants run down with tears, and their eye- 
lids gush out with waters ( Jerem. ix. 1 7, 1 S). For this 
good service, they would, the next morning, wait 
upon the government and principal persons, to 
receive some trifling fee. 

On entering the city, we reached, in a short space, 
the quarters of the Greek Priest; where we obtained 
a room, a very dirty one indeed, but the best that 
was to be had. 

The Christians in this city are all of the Greek 
Communion. The Priest's name is Baba Ysa. 
They are, in number, between twenty and thirty 
families : there are between seventy and eighty 
males who pay the capitation-tax. We found them 



SAMARITANS. 195 

to be in mean circumstances, but very friendly. 
They purchased a few Arabic Testaments. 

CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SAMARITANS. 

In the evening we visited the Samaritan Priest, 
Shalmor Ben Tobiah. He seemed surprised that 
we should know his name, and asked us how we had 
heard of him. When we informed him that we knew 
him through previous travellers, he shewed us the 
Letter of a French Gentleman, who had travelled 
three or four years ago this way, and had sent to 
make certain inquiries of him. 

In a little time, we were joined by various others 
of his people, in number about twelve. I was 
struck to observe that the character of the Priest's 
physiognomy was far from Jewish : that of some 
of the party was Jewish. He informed us, that, 
among their people here, some were of the Tribe of 
Levi ; namely, his own family, consisting of four 
boys and a girl : only this family, however, as he is 
the only man of that tribe. He said that there are 
four or five families of the Tribe of Manasseh, and 
that all the rest are of Ephraim ; excepting one of 
the Tribe of Benjamin, who, while we were speak- 
ing, came in. In all, they are between twenty and 
thirty houses. About sixty males pay the capitation- 
tax. We asked him, how they would supply the 
priesthood, in case his family should fail: several 
replied, together, "It never fails." The Priest, and 
his sons, alone, have the privilege of standing on the 
raised step before the Torah in their Synagogue. 

They said there were in Nablous a few Jewish 
Houses, fewer than their own. To our inquiries, 
whether there were any other Samaritans in the 

o 2 



J 90 JOURNAL. 

world, he replied there were — some in England, 
some in America, some in Benderbeshire* near India : 
there had been very many in France; but they were 
now reduced to three or four: and, finally, there 
were some at Sabbation. His replies were given in 
a manner, which implied a desire to represent the 
numbers of his people as considerable ; rather than 
in a way, which at all convinced us of his knowing 
the condition, or even the existence, of his brethren 
in other countries, concerning whom he offered this 
information. He stated the fact of the Babylonish 
Captivity ; and said that they were of the rem- 
nant which remained in the land, and of those who 
subsequently returned ; but the narrative in 2 Kings 
xvii. 24 &c. they reject as a fabrication. 

On producing the Hebrew New-Testament, we 
asked if it was lawful for them to read it : the Priest 
said that there was no restraint upon their reading 
any books whatever, and accepted the copy which 
we offered. We also gave him an Arabic New- 
Testament. 

He said they were all in expectation of the Mes- 
siah — that the Messiah would be a man, not the 
Son of God — and that this was the place, w hich he 
would make the Metropolis of his kingdom : this 
was the place, of which the Lord had promised, He 
would place his name there. We asked what pas- 
sages of the Pentateuch, according to their views, 
spoke of the Messiah. He quoted, A Prophet shall 
the Lord your God raise up like unto me fyc. This 



* I suppose him to mean Busbire, in the Persian Gulf, west-south- 
west, about 100 miles, from Shiraz. Bender is a Persian word, sig- 
nifying a Mart or Emporium. 



SAMARITANS. 197 

promise of the Messiah was not fulfilled in Joshua, 
for he was not a prophet. 

We begged to see the celebrated Manuscript. 
He made many difficulties, though he readily al- 
lowed us to see the Synagogue. We pressed our 
wishes, however ; when he said there were many 
things previously requisite : he must go first to the 
bath— he must light up many candles, &c. We 
knew what this meant, and said that we would 
pay for all the candles |; on which he consented to 
shew us the Manuscript the next morning. 

We then went down into the Synagogue with his 
Son and many of the company ; but he did not ac- 
company us. They made us take off more of our 
dress, than I had ever been despoiled of before — both 
my outer and inner shoes ; and my " ferwi," a warm 
dress lined with fur. We saw several Samaritan 
Manuscripts on a shelf, wrapped up in cloth : they 
were written on skin. On our asking their price, 
a young man said that they were not to be sold ; 
that to sell them was "Haram," "prohibited;" 
and that every letter was worth a sequin. The 
Samaritan Character they call Ebrani ; and refuse 
the type which we call Hebrew, as an innovation. 

Thursday, Nov. 20, 1823 — Early this morning, ac- 
cording to appointment, we visited the Samaritan 
Priest. We waited for him some time ; during which 
we placed in order our Bibles, and selected some 
texts on which we desired to converse with him. 
At length he made his appearance, and accompanied 
us into the Synagogue. With great reverence, he 
produced the venerable Manuscript, which he said 



f Candles, being very much used in Places of Worship in the East, 
are almost a standard of ecclesiastical fees. 



198 JOURNAL. 

was written by Abisha *, Grandson of Aaron thirteen 
years after the death of Moses, now three thousand 
four hundred and sixty years agof. We were not 
permitted to touch the sacred book, but only to look 
at it, at about a foot distance : the page at which 
he opened shewed, certainly, a very ancient Manu- 
script, with the characters yet sufficiently distinct. 
He then shewed us another of a similar form — appa- 
rently an exact copy — which he said was eight hun- 
dred years old. He also produced a few tattered 
leaves of Walton's JPolyglott — part of Genesis. We 
asked if they did not consider the Books of Joshua 
and Judges as sacred, in the same manner as the 
Torah: he replied, "By no means: these two 
Books we have, and we reverence them; but the 
Torah is our only Sacred Book. Joshua was not a 
Prophet, but the disciple of a Prophet, that is, of 
Moses." 

We inquired in which direction they turn their 
faces, when they pray : he waved his hand in the 
direction a little right of the angle behind the altar, 
that is nearly southward. In this direction is the 
city of Luz, which afterwards was called Bethel ; 
the place which the Lord appointed to set His 
Name there. 

We went out, and he directed his hand toward 
the Hill Gerizim, to a point, a little beyond which 
is the spot whither they go ■" to bless." It may be 
observed, that the Samaritans here, according to 
the account which the Priest gave of their Tribes, 



1 We understood him to say Grandson; but Abishua was Great 
Grandson. See 1 Chron. vi. 4. 

f According to our computation, it should be 3261 years ago. 
Probably the mistake was ours in hearing him. 



SAMARITANS. 199 

are all within the enumeration of those six tribes 
mentioned Dent, xxvii. 12, 13, whose lot it was to 
repeat the blessings ; the other six being appointed 
to curse on Mount Ebal. He also directed his 
hand toward the spot, where those were to stand 
who were appointed to curse. 

We asked if the report was true, that, in any way, 
they worshipped the symbol of a Dove — looking, at 
the same time, to see if the emblem of the Dove was 
anywhere to be seen on the curtain, which screens 
the Altar, as some had said. He replied, ' 4 It is a 
falsehood of the Jews, who endeavour to calum- 
niate us." 

As to Jerusalem, they have no respect for it as a 
holy city; regarding the Jews as their rivals, and 
speaking entirely in the spirit of the Woman of 
Samaria (John iv. 20) : Our fathers ivorshipped in 
this mountain. 

We then produced a few passages in the Penta- 
teuch, concerning which we desired to know his 
opinion, whether or no they referred to the Messiah. 
Genesis iii. 15 (I will put enmity between thee and 
the womatiy and betiveen thy seed and her seed: it 
shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel ) 
he said did not refer to the Messiah. Genesis 
xlix. 10 (The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh 
come) they consider as' a prophecy of the Messiah, 
who is Shiloh : and, when pressed on the circum- 
stance, that the sceptre was already departed from 
Judah, he gave the explanation which many of the 
Jews give, that Judah has always hitherto existed 
and still exists somewhere in the world, exercising 
regal authority ; although he acknowledged that he 
did not know where. We asked if there were any 



200 JOURNAL. 

other passages : lie quoted no other this morning ; 
but, yesterday, he had already cited Deut. xviii. 15. 

On coming' out, we asked how long this Syna- 
gogue had been occupied by them : he pointed to a 
small marble slab inserted in the wall, engraven w ith 
Samaritan characters ; which, he said, recorded the 
period of their occupying this building — now four 
hundred and ninety years. There w ere two or three 
other slabs with Samaritan characters, inserted in 
like manner in the wall. That which records the 
date of their possession of the Synagogue is in a 
small recess, on the left side of the door. 

Three times a year they go up Mount Gerizim : 
but we did not understand what their Services were 
on these occasions ; not, he said, to sacrifice, for 
fear of the Turks. When they do sacrifice, it is done 
in some private place, and in the city, that they may 
not be molested. We understood them to say that 
they had not a daily sacrifice*. 

The House of this Priest, and the Synagogue 
which adjoins it, are very clean — a perfect contrast 
to the inveterate filth of the Jewish Houses and 
Synagogues, which we had seen at Tiberias and 
Safet ; one only excepted, tha t of the Austrian Con- 
sul at Tiberias. Whether this is owing to the 
national character of the Samaritans — if national 
be a term applicable to a hundred persons — or 
whether it is owing to their being in tolerably easy 
circumstances, or whether it is the case with the 
Priest's house alone, which was the only one we 
visited, it is not in my power to judge. 



* When, on a subsequent occasion, I passed through Nablous, the 
Chief Layman of the Samaritans told me, that, at the Passover, they 
*.till sacrifice and eat the Paschal Lamb. 



SAMARITANS. 201 

The Priest, in a very friendly manner, asked us 
to take up our lodging with him for the night; as 
he had done on the evening before : but we designed 
to leave at noon; and, therefore, bid him farewell. 
He desired us to join our fingers together with his, 
in token, as he said, that the English were his friends; 
adding, that he wished to be considered as under 
English protection*. 

REMARKS ON THE SAMARITANS* 

The character, and indeed the existence to the 
present day, of this now-diminished people, must 
appear a very singular fact. They seem to have 
made Nablous, what it anciently was to the Israelites 
when its name was Shechem, their City of Refuge^', 

* On the subject of the Samaritans, the Reader may consult Bas- 
nage's History of the Jews ; and also Prideaux's Connection, Part I. 
Book 2. The following Extract is from Prideaux : — 

" There is an old Copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch now shewn at 
Shechem, (or Naplous, as they now call it,) the head seat of that Sect, 
which would put this matter beyond all dispute, were that true which 
is said of it. For they tell us, that therein are written these words : 
6 I Abishua, the son of Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, 
the High Priest, have transcribed this copy at the door of the taber- 
nacle of the congregation, in the Y&th year of the Children of Israel's 
entrance into the Holy Land.' But Dr. Huntington, late Bishop of 
Rapho in Ireland, having, while Chaplain to the Turkey Company 
at Aleppo, been at Shechem, and there examined this copy upon the 
spot, found no such words on the Manuscript, nor thought the copy 
ancient. Whether the Samaritans did, in ancient times, absolutely 
reject all the other Scriptures besides the Pentateuch, some do doubt ; 
because it is certain, from the discourse of the Woman of Samaria 
with our Saviour, that they had the same expectations of a Messiah 
that the Jews had ; and this they say they could no where clearly have, 
but from the Prophets. And it cannot be denied, but that there is 
some force in this argument. Perchance, although they did read the 
Pentateuch only in their Synagogues, yet anciently they might not 
have been without a due regard to the other Sacred Writings, what- 
soever their sentiments may be of them at present." 

-j- Joshua xx. 7, and xxi, 21, 



202 JOURNAL. 

and here, in some faint sense, to have found security. 
Were their own account of their genealogy to be 
admitted, they might almost be regarded — accord- 
ins: to our view of the division of the Twelve Tribes 
between llehoboam and Jeroboam — as representing 
the most ancient Schism in the Church of God. 
This would place them on a footing of greater anti- 
quity than even the Karaim; who claim for their 
date the return from the Babylonish captivity. 

Of the true origin of the Samaritans, however, we 
naturally judge from those Scriptures, which are by 
us received as Canonical. A mingled race — princi- 
pally Cuthaean, though partly, perhaps, of Israelitish 
blood — they have, in the course of ages, vainly en- 
deavoured to claim as an hereditary right every 
privilege of Israel ; and to identify themselves, 
almost in a more exclusive manner than the Jews 
themselves, with the great Hebrew Legislator. 
Their pretensions have never been, to this day, ad- 
mitted by the Jews ; and, by our Lord Himself, they 
were repeatedly spoken of and treated as strangers. 

It is easy to account, therefore, for their repug- 
nance to receive a large portion of the Books of our 
Holy Scriptures. 

The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel, 
(although they acknowledge the fact, there recorded, 
of the Babylonish Captivity,) must be, above all, 
peculiarly obnoxious, as fixing upon them the stigma 
of a spurious and idolatrous origin : see 2 Kings 
xvii. 24 — 41. 

The Psalms, designed for the spiritual edification 
of the Church in every place and age, yet record 
their rejection, and declare the superior favour shewn 
to their rival city Jerusalem : Moreover, he refused 



SAMARITANS. 208 

the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of 
Ephraim. But chose the tribe of JudaA, the Mount 
Sion which he loved, (Ps. lxvii. 07, 68, with other 
similar passages.) This invaluable treasure of devo- 
tion is, therefore, in a manner, lost to them. 

Isaiah must offend them, as he everywhere uses 
the terms of Zion and Jerusalem, in describing the 
seat of the Messiah's Kingdom. Jerusalem confirms 
the expressions quoted from the Psalms (Jer. vii. 15. 
also iii. 17). Micah gives to Bethlehem the honour 
of Messiah's birth. Daniel, in his prayer, declares 
Jerusalem to be the holy mountain of God. And thus 
it is with many other passages of the Old Testament. 

Our Lord expressly charges them with worship- 
ping they knew not what — an expression so similar 
to that in the Acts of the Apostles (xvii. 23), that it 
seems to describe them, while partially enlightened, 
yet to be little better than Heathens : and He accord- 
ingly directs His Disciples, in the same verse, to de- 
cline going either to Gentiles or Samaritans ; plainly 
intimating, that the Samaritans were not to be ac- 
counted, any more than the Gentiles, as of the House 
of Israel : (Matt. x. 5, 6.) He, also, expressly deno- 
minated the Samaritan Leper, a stranger: (Luke 
xvii. 18.) 

Their existence to thepresent day, maintaining that 
very geographical post, to which, in consequence 
of their opinions, they must in every age have been 
most partial, demonstrates, in a high degree, the 
extreme tenaciousness of party-spirit. Christianity 
— for this was once a Christian Bishopric — appears 
not to have dislodged these ancient tenants of the 
Mountains of Ephraim. In what light their future 
conversion is to be regarded, whether as belonging 



204 JOURNAL. 

to the operations of general Missionary Societies or 
of Societies for the Jews, might be a question of some 
nicety, were it requisite to speculate upon it. They 
are, however, too small a body — nearly confined, as 
there is reason to believe, to this one district — to be 
considered as peculiarly interesting to any one So- 
ciety more than another ; unless (which is a mere 
conjecture) they should be in the secret possession 
of facts, which might serve as a clue to any disco- 
veries relative to the Ten Tribes. In a historical 
point of view, they are certainly a kind of religious 
curiosity : in a practical view, they will probably be 
regarded alike by all Missionaries as calling for 
prayer and exertion. May they be brought to flee 
to the sinner's only City of Refuge, of whom this 
city was a type — even to Him, who here graciously 
announced Himself to a sinful Woman of Samaria, as 
the Christ, the Saviour of the World ! 

DEPARTURE FROM NABLOUS. 

Having, with much difficulty, compelled our 
guides to prepare for departure from Nablous, they 
declaring that the whole city and country were in 
confusion on account of the death of the Governor, 
we set off, at length, considerably after twelve 
o'clock. At the gate, our servants were long de- 
tained for a trifling exaction ; which we desired 
them, for the sake of all future travellers, to resist as 
long ,and reduce as low, as possible. For about two 
shillings, they at length escaped with a great deal of 
abuse of us as Franks and Christians. 

SANGVL. 

We, in the mean time, took our route through the 



SANGYL. 205 

extensive and picturesque olive-grounds, which 
lie on the southern side of Nablous. These open, 
at length, upon a fine valley, which stretches to the 
right and left; and which, from its fertility, may 
well be regarded a worthy portion for Jacob to 
have given to his beloved son Joseph. It runs 
nearly north-east and south-west : the Valley of 
Nablous, being at right- angles to it, lies conse- 
quently about north-west and south-east. 

Leaving the Valley of Nablous, the high-towering 
rocks of Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim seemed to 
assume a more than common awfulness, from the 
effect of a thick haze which was just gathering upon 
the air. Winding on the right-hand round the base 
of Mount Gerizim, we gradually ascended for some 
distance ; having the above-mentioned Valley of 
Joseph just beneath us on the left. We arrived, 
only by sun-set, at the ruined khan, called Khan 
Leban ; and had now to ascend a steep and rocky 
road, leading to the village of Sangyl, when the sky 
burst upon us with torrents of rain and furious 
blasts of wind, for half-an-hour. On arriving at our 
poor village, we went to the house of the only 
Christian Family in the place ; who kindly made us 
a blazing fire, at which we were glad to dry our- 
selves and take supper. 

BETHEL. 

Friday, Nov. 21, 1823— We started a little after 
sun-rise, and began to descend into the valley; 
somewhere in the neighbourhood of which was 
Bethel — the spot where Jacob beheld the vision of 
Angels ; and received those encouraging assurances 
of the presence and protection of God, which were 



200 JOURNAL. 

his support all his lifelong. Here, more than five-arid* 
thirty centuries ago, this Patriarch dedicated him- 
self to the Lord, in terms, which are still well-suited 
to express, what should be the moderate desire of 
every Missionary — If God ivill be with me and keep 
me in this way, and will give me bread to eat and 
raiment to put on . . . then shall the Lord be my God. 

The road through which we passed was, in many 
parts, very picturesque ; but a more particular allu- 
sion to it will appear in a subsequent page. 

APPRO AC II TO JERUSALEM. 

On reaching the rocky heights of Beer, the coun- 
try began to assume a more wild appearance. Un- 
cultivated hilly tracts, in every direction, seemed to 
announce, that, not only Jerusalem, but its vicinity 
for some miles round, was destined to sadden 
the heart of every visitor. Even the stranger that 
shall come from afar land, it was predicted (Deut. 
xxix. 22.), should be amazed at the plagues laid 
upon this country : and this became, more than 
ever, literally fulfilled,- in my feelings, as I drew near 
to the Metropolis of this chosen nation. Expecta- 
tion was, indeed, wrought up to a high pitch, as we 
ascended hill after hill, and beheld others yet more 
distant rising after each other. 

Being apprehensive lest I should not reach the 
city gate before sun-set, Mr. Fisk having gone on 
some way before me in order to prepare our rooms, 
I repeatedly desired the guides to ask the Arabs 
whom we met, how far, or, according to the lan- 
guage of this country, " how many hours," it was 
to Jerusalem. The answer which we received from 
all was, " We have been at the prayers at the 



APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. 207 

Mosque of Omar, and we left at noon"— -to-day 
being the Mahomedan Sabbath. We were thus left 
to calculate our distance. The reply sounded very 
foreign to the ears of one, who knew that, formerly, 
there were scenes of purer worship on this spot. 
Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to 
the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name 
of the Lord. 

At length, while the sun was yet two hours high, 
my long and intensely interesting suspense was re- 
lieved. The view of the City burst upon me as in a 
moment ; and the truly graphic language of the 
Psalmist was verified, in a degree of which I could 
have formed no previous conception. Continually, 
the expressions were bursting from my lips — Beau- 
tiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is 
Mount Zion ! — They, that trust in the Lord, shall be 
as Mount Zion; which cannot be removed, but abideth 
for ever ! — As the mountains are round about Jeru- 
salem, so the Lord is round about his people, from 
henceforth even for ever! 

Among the vast assemblage of domes which 
adorn the roofs of the Convents, Churches, and 
Houses, and give to this forlorn city an air even of 
magnificence, none seemed more splendid than that 
which has usurped the place of Solomon's Temple, 
Not having my companion with me, I surveyed all 
in silence and rapture; and the elegant proportions, 
the glittering gilded crescent, and the beautiful 
green-blue colour of the Mosque of Omar were 
peculiarly attractive. A more soothing part of the 
scenery was the lovely slope of the Mount of Olives 
on the left. As we drew nearer and nearer to the 
City of the Great King, more and more manifest 



208 JOURNAL. 

were the proofs of the displeasure of that Great King 
resting upon His city. 



JERUSALEM. 

Like many other cities of the East, the distant 
view of Jerusalem is inexpressibly beautiful : but 
the distant view is all. On entering at the Damas- 
cus Gate, meanness, and filth and misery, not ex- 
ceeded, if equalled, by anything which I had before 
seen, soon told the tale of degradation. How is 
the fine gold become dim ! 

Thus I went onward, pitying every thing and 
every body that I saw — till, turning off to the right, 
and having passed up what is called the " Via Do- 
lorosa," from its being the supposed path of our 
Lord when He bore His Cross on his way to His 
Crucifixion, we, at length, alighted at the Greek 
Convent of Mar Michael. 

FIRST FEELINGS AND REFLECTIONS IN JERUSALEM. 

During the first few hours after our arrival in the 
Holy City, there was little to stir up the heart to a 
lively feeling, that this is really that venerable and 
beloved place, renowned above all others in Scrip- 
ture. Hunger, fatigue, and the cheerfulness of an 
eight-hours' ride over a peculiarly desolate tract of 
country, with no other refreshment than a small jar 
of boiled rice and some bread, would have been 
agreeably relieved by the welcome of pleasant 
countenances, sufficient food, and a warm room : 
but our apartments, which had not been occupied 
for six months, were floored and vaulted with stone 
— fire-places are unknown in this land — our provi- 



JERUSALEM. 209 

sions were air to seek ; and, at this late hour of the 
day, scarcely to be found — Hadjee Demetrius, the 
servant of the Convent, in a sort of broken Turco- 
Grecian dialect, proffered his tedious and auk ward 
services — the baggage was to be looked after — the 
mercenary and clamorous guides were to be (not 
satisfied : that was an impossibility ; but) settled 
with and dismissed — and, lastly, as if to diffuse a 
perfect sadness over our arrival, the storm, which 
had threatened and slightly touched us during the 
latter part of our stage, now began to fall in tor- 
rents, similar to those which had buffeted us on the 
preceding ev ening near Sangyl. Every thing com- 
bined to inspire a feeling of melancholy — congenial 
enough to those emotions with which the actual 
*civil and religious condition of Jerusalem deserves 
now to be contemplated ; but, in no degree har- 
monizing with those sublimer and more glorious 
thoughts, which the very Name of this City gene- 
rally awakens in the bosom of the Christian. 

When the evening had closed, however, and the 
hour for retirement, devotion, and repose arrived, 
all that I had ever anticipated as likely to be felt on 
reaching this place, gradually came into my mind, 
and filled me with the most lively consciousness of 
delight at being in Jerusalem. " This" — I thought — 
" is no other than the City of David. Hither, the 
Queen of the South came to hear the wisdom of 
Solomon. Isaiah here poured forth strains of evan- 
gelic rapture, which will glow with unspent warmth 
till the end of time. Here, the building of the Se- 
cond Temple drew from the beholders mingled 
shouts and tears; and, here was that very Temple, 

p 



210 JOURNAL. 

made more glorious than the first, by the entrance 
of the Desire of all Nations, the Messenger of the 
Covenant ! Here, after He had rebuilt the temple 
of His own body, He began the wonderous work of 
raising a Spiritual Temple to His Father — shedding 
abundantly upon His Disciples the gift of the Holy 
Ghost, for w hich they waited in this very City ; and 
then sending them forth as His icitnesses to the utter- 
most parts of the earth" 

Such were the principal thoughts, with which I 
had for some months associated this visit; and, 
now, all were gradually presented to my mind. 

I felt, I confess, no particular anxiety to see w hat 
are called the " Holy Places." Many have hastened 
to offer their first devotions at the Sepulchre of our 
Lord : so far from having this desire, I feel some- 
what of repugnance at the idea : it is enough forme 
to know, that I am not far from that scene — that 
Gethsemane, and Calvary, and the place ivhere the 
Lord lay, are all so near to me, that I can truly say, 
I am dwelling in the midst of them. All this, too, 
my heart can better conceive in the stillness of the 
night-season, than by the light of day. And He, 
who suffered here, still lives — Jesus Christ, the same 
yesterday, to-day, and for ever! Spiritually He is 
as near to me, as He would have been had I seen 
Him, this very day, at the ninth hour expiring upon 
the Cross : the blood then shed is still fresh in its 
efficacy, and cleanseth us from all sin. If to have 
come hither should prove the means of raising me 
one degree higher in love to this adorable Redeemer, 
I would be thankful: but let me remember, that He 
desires us chiefly to view Him witli the eye of 



JERUSALEM. 211 

faith; and that, although we see Him not in the 
flesh, yet, believing, ive may rejoice in Him with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory. 

Saturday, Nov. 22, 1823 — I was early wakened in 
the morning, by some person in the Convent Chapel 
striking a piece of wood. My room communicates 
with the upper part of the Chapel, by a lattice, at 
which the smoke of the incense soon began to 
enter : the striking of the wood was instead of the 
ringing of a bell ; and, in a few moments, I heard 
the voices of two or three Ecclesiastics, commencing 
the drowsy, monotonous chaunt of the Greek Li- 
turgy. This Service was observed by them every 
morning. 

On rising, it was pleasant to view from my cham- 
ber window the mild scenery of the Mount of 
Olives. This mountain gradually increases in 
beauty, till about the second hour after sun- rise; 
when the swells and slopes upon its side present a 
very soft variation of light and shade, at this season 
of the year. 

In the course of the day, one of the Monks of the 
principal Greek Convent called to bring the Saluta- 
tions of the Epitropi, or Superintendants. Many 
others, also, who knew Mr. Fisk and his brethren 
in their former visits, came with presents in their 
hands, and inquiring what Bibles and Testaments 
we had brought. 

GREEK MONKS. 

Sunday, Nov. 23 — In the morning we had Divine 
Service in our room ; together with an English 
Gentleman, now in Jerusalem. 

After dinner, several Monks from the principal 

P 2 



212 JOURNAL. 

Creek Convent called upon us; and conversed, as 
they may naturally be expected to do, concerning 
the calamities of their Church. One of them stated 
the case thus : " Why do not the European Christian 
Powers unite in putting down our enemies ? We 
are your brethren : when Abraham heard that Lot 
was taken by the five kings, he immediately set off 
with his company, and overtook them, and rescued 
his nephew." I need not repeat, that upon this 
topic, which we inevitably hear frequently discussed, 
we find it best to be silent — our office being rather 
to draw religious uses from the melancholy state of 
things ; and to apply the remedy to the heart, out of 
which proceed wars and fightings. 

ABYSSINIAN PRIEST. 

Shortly after this party had left us, another person 
entered. The moment he opened the door, I ex- 
claimed, " You need not tell me of what country 
that man is. This is an Abyssinian." His resem- 
blance to the few Abyssinians whom 1 have seen, 
. and to the living picture given by Ludolf of Abba 
Gregorius, in complexion, form, and expression of 
countenance, his dress, his manner, all bespoke his 
nation. He bowed, or rather crouched and fawned, 
toward us ; repeating the word " Salamat" — I will 
not say a thousand, or even a hundred times — but 
certainly so often, and with such profuse servility, 
that we knew not whether to be more amused or 
w r earied : and as this was his uniform custom at all 
future interviews, we as uniformly used to sum up 
our reply to him in plain English, " Salamat a thou- 
sand times T — " A thousand healths or compliments 
to you!" Not that this brevity on our part caused 



JERUSALEM. 213 

him to intermit his reiterated Salamats : for what- 
ever powerful effect Western Nations may attribute 
to a direct, brief, and blunt method of accosting 
both friends and foes, the Men of the East are well 
acquainted with the maxim, that a soft tongue 
breaketh the bone. Oppression has taught them to 
carry gentleness to an excess. They are born and 
bred to the practice of refined insinuation or gross 
flattery ; and it seems impossible to beat them off 
from that ground, since they expect to succeed on 
no other. 

Both the Abyssinian Priest and myself speak 
Arabic too imperfectly, to make ourselves well un- 
derstood by each other. I learn from him, however, 
that he has been in this City seven years ; that there 
are about twenty Abyssinians in his Convent, and 
that he is the chief among them. Last year, he says, 
that seven Pilgrims set out from Abyssinia ; of 
whom three were Priests and four Deacons. By 
the term Deacon may be meant merely persons who 
have taken the first degree in the Church, and read 
t he Lessons iu Divine Service : it is usual, in the East, 
for young men to do this, while they remain lay- 
men ; and this corresponds with the prima tonsura 
of the Church of Rome. One of these Pilgrims did 
not live to reach Jerusalem, but died at Damietta. 
The Priest informs me, likewise, that the daughter 
of the King of Abyssinia, mentioned by Mr.Connor*, 
is dead. The political news which they hear from 
Abyssinia is, that Subyadis is increasing in strength, 
and likely to fix himself in the situation of the late 
Has Welled Selasse, as Governor of Tigr6 : if he 



* Christian Researches in the Mediterranean, p. 432, 



214 



JOURNAL. 



should finally succeed, it may be of considerable 
advantage ; as he is under personal obligation to 
Mr. Salt, and consequently a friend to the English. 

GREEK CONVENT. 

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1823 — We visited the principal 
Greek Convent, and had an interview with Daniel, 
the Bishop of Nazareth ; a man of acuteness and 
learning ; very placid, and apparently much worne 
with anxiety on account of the oppressions suffered 
by the Greek Convents — And on the side of the 
oppressors there is power. To him, conjointly with 
the Bishop of Petra, is committed the charge of the 
affairs of this Patriarchate, The Patriarch himself, 
Polycarp, never visits Jerusalem. For more than a. 
century this has been the custom ; and indeed those, 
of whom I inquired, scarcely knew from how far 
back the Patriarch had been in the habit of taking 
up his residence at Constantinople. This he does, 
because a very large sum of money would be required 
by the Turks, on such an occasion as the entrance 
of a Patriarch within the Walls of Jerusalem. The 
Head Dragoman of the Convent was present, as 
also the Librarian. The Dragoman cried out, re- 
peatedly, and with an earnestness which seemed 
almost like an appeal to our purses, " We want 
help ! We need some assistance !" The Bishop him- 
self speaks with much more pathos : when we con- 
doled with him on their present afflictions, he briefly 
replied, " It is for our sins : the measure of the chas- 
tisement of our sins is not yet filled up !" And these 
are expressions which he often uses with us. In allu- 
sion to the New Governor, who arrived only two 
days before us, I was saying that probably they had 



JERUSALEM. 



215 



not yet had much acquaintance with him : they 
answered, with a sad smile, " Our Governors soon 
make themselves known." Coming, in fact, as often 
as once a year, and sometimes oftener, they make 
a speedy, unceremonious approach to the purses of 
the different Communities : and then give place to 
a new, and equally hungry successor. As I was men- 
tioned as Secretary of the Bible Society in Malta, the 
Bishop expressed his interest in the welfare of the 
Society — saying, " Your heart is set upon a good 
work" — or words to that effect. His colleague is, 
at present, ill of a fever. 

The Librarian accompanied us to the Library. 
There are some books in Latin, French, and Italian; 
but not many — none in Ethiopic : the chief part are 
Greek. In the small inner rooms, several Greek 
Manuscripts, principally Scriptural, were shewn us : 
they did not appear to be of great antiquity. The 
Patriarch of Jerusalem, he tells us, is settled by 
the Will of his Predecessor, not by Election — the 
Patriarch of Constantinople, by Election of the Holy 
Synod ; and the Patriarch of Antioch, also by the 
same Synod of Constantinople. The Patriarch of 
Antioch takes up his residence at Damascus. The 
Patriarch of Alexandria he represented also as 
chosen at Constantinople. These are all of the 
Oriental Greek-Church. 

It is one of the Canons of the Greek Convents of 
Jerusalem, that no natives can belong to them. 
The Christians of this Communion are numerous in 
Palestine and Syria ; but they rise to none of the 
dignities of this Patriarchate, nor are they admitted 
members of the Monasteries. Most generally they 
are married Priests, Their language is Arabic. 



216 jouawAL. 

In the Convents here, Greek chiefly is spoken, and 
also Turkish ; the Monks being all from Greece, 
Asia Minor, or the Archipelago. 

Daniel takes his Episcopal title from Nazareth : 
his Colleague is styled "Aytog Hsrgoig, " the Saint of 
Petra," or, " the Holy [Bishop] of Petra." Petra 
(the Metropolis of which is Karrac, three or four 
days' distant from Jerusalem, on the east of the 
Dead Sea, in which region are yet many Christians) 
is his Diocese. The title " Holy " is very commonly 
given, in this manner, to the Bishops ; although, 
strictly, they do not allow the title " Saint" to any 
except those who work miracles. This Bishop is 
the one who, annually at Easter, performs the re- 
puted Miracle of the Holy Fire : concerning which 
it is difficult to reflect without mingled emotions of 
horror and indignation * 

We visited some of the Monks ; and went over 
the w hole of the Convent, which is a very extensive 
but irregular building. The number of Monks whom 
it would well accommodate was stated at seventy : 
and here nearly all the resident Monks of Jerusalem 
abide. The other Greek Convents, in number 
about ten, are of far smaller dimensions ; designed 
only for the reception of the Pilgrims, and merely 
occupied by a Superior and one or two Monks 
during the absence of Pilgrims. They are, at pre- 
sent, nearly a solitude ; no Greek Pilgrims having 
arrived for two years : formerly, this Communion 
could boast a much larger number of Pilgrims than 
any other. The number of Ecclesiastics, in the 

* See an account of this Holy Fire, in Maundrell, and various Tra 
vellers ; and in Mr. Connor's Journal, pp. 436, 437 of Christiai 
Jtlesearehesin the Mediterranean. 



JERUSALEM. 217 

whole of the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was 
stated to me at 200 : but I have no means of veri- 
fying the statement. 

From the Terrace of the principal Convent, the 
Court of the Abyssinians is overlooked. At the 
hour we were there (about mid-day) we saw the 
poor Abyssinians receiving their daily bread : it is 
given them as chanty by the Armenians. 

ABYSSINIAN CONVENT. 

Thursday, Nov. 27, 1823— Went to the Abyssinian 
Convent. The road by which the Priest led us, 
which was not the direct way, was through the place 
where they slaughter animals. Hovels and streets 
so offensively abounding with noisome sights and 
pestilential smells, I never before witnessed. In the 
court-yard, and in a small adjacent garden belong- 
ing to the Convent of this people, we saw twelve 
Abyssinians ; of whom five were females and seven 
were men. One of them was pointed out to us as 
a Priest ; but he could speak no other than his 
native language. In the garden was a wretched 
hovel, which was the abode of part of this company. 
Some of them appeared very old ; one or two rather 
young. They all seemed very idle ; and indeed 
their whole object appears to be, to spend their last 
days in Jerusalem, doing almost nothing. Nor do 
we see, indeed, any thing in the society by which 
they are surrounded, which would stimulate them 
to a higher purpose. We were not able to converse 
with them, and our accompanying Priest was but 
an imperfect, and somewhat unwilling, Interpreter. 
He took us into his own room; and here we sat, for 
a long time, occupied with his Manuscripts. Among 



218 JOURNAL. 

other books, wc found copies of the Psalter pub- 
lished by the British and Foreign Bible Society. 

This city may be an excellent station for learning 
the Abyssinian Language ; as here is a company of 
twenty, who, although ignorant, indolent, and utterly 
inapt to the Art of Teaching, would, nevertheless, 
to a man who could teach himself from books, fur- 
nish pronunciation and practice. As a station for 
distributing the Abyssinian Scriptures, I imagine it 
would not answer; for they, who come hither, gene- 
rally never return to their native country. The mo- 
tive which brought them hither — blind devotion — 
and the difficulties which they met with on their 
way, added to their extreme poverty, operate to fix 
them in Jerusalem, when once fairly arrived. Yet, 
possibly, an Englishman, intending to visit Abys- 
sinia, might here find an individual among them 
willing, for a suitable pecuniary consideration, to ac- 
company him ; and he would serve, though on many 
accounts imperfectly, as a guide and interpreter. 
My conviction is here confirmed, that whoever visits 
Abyssinia must go relying, under Providence, on 
his own resources, and not on any companion. 
Were it my destination, however, I should certainly, 
after acquiring a competent knowledge of Arabic, 
aim at giving twelve or eighteen months to the study 
and practice of the Ancient and Modern Abyssinian 
Languages in Jerusalem, rather than any other spot 
which I have yet seen. There are these additional 
advantages : the mind would thus become inured to 
the misery of the circumstances of that people; and, 
further, a traveller, passing from Jerusalem to Abys- 
sinia, would carry with him, as a visitor from that 
Holy City, a peculiar recommendation. 



JERUSALEM. 219 

I examined several of the Manuscripts in this Con- 
vent ; and subsequently purchased the whole of 
the Ethiopic New Testament, in two Manuscript 
Volumes. There was, among the Manuscripts, one 
great folio, written in large characters. The Priest 
had told others, and he wished to persuade me, that 
it was the whole of the Old Testament. From the 
simplest calculation, it evidently could not be above 
the fifth j>art of it ; but when I turned the leaves over, 
and shewed him that it was only a Lection ary con- 
taining Extracts from Isaiah, Daniel, Hosea, and 
other Books of the Old Testament, he began to be 
half angry. He said that they read this book 
through in the Offices of the Passion- Week. 

I will here add the remainder of that scanty infor- 
mation, which I subsequently obtained in this quar- 
ter concerning the Abyssinians. Three or four of 
them have joined the Greek Communion: so far as 
I could learn, this conversion has arisen from the 
hope of improving their condition a little, and eating 
more bread. They are, at present, residing at the 
Greek Monastery of Mar Saba, three hours to the 
East of Jerusalem, on the way to the Dead Sea. 
There are, likewise, two at the Armenian Convent : 
I did not see them : but the Abyssinian Priest, who 
is on friendly terms with the Armenians, said that 
one was elderly, the other a youth. Of those whom 
I have to-day seen, one was quite young; not more, 
probably, than twenty years of age. The person 
pointed out as a Priest seemed to me not more than 
thirty-five. The Chief Priest appears upward of 
forty years of age. 



220 



JO LUNA L. 



YSA PETROS, A GREEK PRIEST. 

The breaking up of the weather here, in the close 
of this week, interrupted our excursions. 1 have 
just made the acquaintance, however, of one of the 
most interesting characters in this place — Papas 
Ysa Petros. He is a Priest of the Greek Commu- 
nion : being a native, Arabic is his language. He is 
married, and has several children. He has already 
been employed as a Translator into Arabic, by Mr. 
Fisk; through whose kindness, two or three Tracts 
have been put into my possession for printing. 
During a residence of many years at Damietta, he 
translated, for an opulent Arab Merchant at Damietta, 
the whole of Rollin's Ancient History into Arabic, 
which it is to be hoped may one day see the light : 
of this work, he has a small part in his possession, 
which he shewed us: it is the first rough translation, 
containing the History of Egypt and Carthage : the 
whole work occupied him six years. He under- 
stands, besides his native language, Greek, Italian, 
and French ; and he has studied Syriac, Ethiopic, 
and Armenian, from his natural love of languages. I 
have seen no one in Syria, who unites so much sim- 
plicity and goodness of disposition, with such a 
compass of literary acquirements. 

It is a curious circumstance with regard to names, 
that not only is the influence of Mahomedaiiism ma- 
nifested in the adoption, by Christians, of names not 
common among their brethren in other countries ; 
but, further, in the name Ysa they have adopted the 
orthography of the Koran: it is the Mahomedan 
reading for Jesus. 

Sunday, Nov. 30, 1823 — We again united with 



JERUSALEM. 221 

our countryman, in performing Divine Service in 
English. 

Monday, Dec. 1, 1823 — As I was this morning on 
my way to wait on the Armenian Patriarch, I met a 
courier just come in with Letters from Malta. They 
announce the arrival in Beirout of two more Ame- 
rican Missionaries, the Rev. Messrs. Bird and 
Goodell, with their families. We were already ap- 
prised of their intention to proceed either to Smyrna 
or Alexandria : but this decisive step has rejoiced 
our hearts more abundantly than we had antici- 
pated. To Mr. Fisk and myself, they appear to 
have done exactly the right thing; and the kind- 
ness with which they have been received on their 
landing, by our Consul and his family, has not a 
little gratified us. 

REFLECTIONS ON HOLY PLACES. 

In the afternoon I went out of the City, and walked 
round a considerable part of the walls, so as to ob- 
tain a general view of the principal objects. 

Educated in an early love of Scripture, I cannot 
describe the emotions excited by beholding the very 
scene of the most important events recorded in the 
Old and New Testaments. I have, designedly, 
kept myself from attending to the traditionary mi- 
nutiae which are imposed upon the thousands of 
annual Pilgrims. I envy not those, who, from igno- 
rance and superstitious subjection, are obliged to 
receive from the lips of hackneyed guides the trifles 
of Tradition ; who can fall down prostrate, and em- 
brace with rapture, the very spot measured to an 
inch, or the very stone-wall of a house preserved for 
ten or twenty or thirty centuries, at which some 



222 JOURNAL. 

event of Scripture-History is said to have taken 
place. Good taste and the love of truth alike re- 
volt from the details, which may be collected from 
many Books of Travels. This system tends to bring 
down the mind to trifles : it more often perplexes 
than throws open the fair path of Antiquarian Re- 
search : and (which is the most painful) it confounds 
the belief built on sound historical evidence, with 
that credulity which clings to uncertain tradition ; 
and draws aside the hearts of the multitude of super- 
stitious devotees, from great, essential, and affect- 
ing doctrines, to dubious and insignificant localities. 
I feel it enough to know, that, here, is the Hill of 
Zion — beneath, and all around, are the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat, and the Brook Cedron — yonder, the 
Mount of Olives, and the road to Bethany. The 
rest must be supplied by a spiritual sense of an ever- 
present Saviour. 

CONVERSATIONS WITH YSA PETROS. 

In the evening, we had our friend Pappas Ysa to 
tea ; and conversed concerning his translations 
into Arabic. He was long employed in this capa- 
city, by Seignior Basil Fakr of Damietta ; who, to 
his extensive commercial engagements, added a 
very laudable ambition to furnish his library with 
useful books, translated from European Languages 
into his own. Rollin has been translated into Mo- 
dern Greek; and, from this Version, the Arabic 
translation was made. Another work which Ysa 
Petros translated was an answer to various infidel 
objections by Voltaire : I have not heard that any 
part of the works of Voltaire was ever translated 
into Arabic ; so that a refutation of his opinions, in 



JERUSALEM. 223 

that language, might seem premature: it may, 
doubtless, be expected, however, to occupy one day 
a useful post in the field of Religious Enquiry — a 
field which is gradually becoming more and more 
open to people of every nation. 

I was particularly struck with one remark of Ysa 
Petros on the style of some short Sermons which 
we put into his hands to translate into Arabic. 
" They are," he observed, " too much in the se- 
cond person. Thus, ' You are a sinner — you must 
repent or perish!' Now the reader," he said, " will 
naturally ask, 6 Who is this, that tells me I am a 
sinner? Is he not a sinner himself?"' This criti- 
cism, intended as a censure, appears to me to be, 
in some sense, a commendation of the Sermons : it 
shews that they are pointed and awakening ; and it 
amounts, at the same time, to a tacit acknowledg- 
ment, that pointed and awakening addresses to the 
conscience are not in the style of the East. Ser- 
mons, in fact, are very rarely preached here ; and 
those are little more than moral treatises, or pane- 
gyrics of some Saint, or stories of miracles. Ysa 
Petros, himself, does not preach. He would be 
astonished to witness the earnestness of multitudes 
of our English Preachers, stirring up sinners to flee 
from the wrath to come, and urging them to come 
to Christ for Salvation. Perhaps he would say to 
himself—" They preach as if they thought they 
were speaking to men who are not Christians!" 

There are, in Jerusalem, about ten Native Greek 
Priests who are married and have families. No 
one of them comes up to Ysa Petros in acquire- 
ments, or in intelligent and philanthopic views. 
They are far behind. He is much respected by the 



221 JOURNAL. 

Superiors of the Greek Convent ; and is appointed 
by them to accompany ns to-morrow to examine 
the Library of the Monastery of the Holy Cross. 

MONASTERY OF THE HOLY CROSS. 

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1823 — We proceeded, this morn- 
ing, a\ ith our friend, to the Monastery of the Holy 
Cross, which is romantically situated in a valley on 
the west of the City, between the two roads — that, 
on the one side, to Jaffa ; and that, on the other, 
to Bethlehem. By leisurely walking, we arrived 
there in forty minutes. We had to knock loud and 
long, before we gained attention. The Superior 
having scanned our appearance from the lattice of 
an upper window, at length put forth his head, and 
inquired our errand ; after which an order was 
given for our admission, and we entered, door after 
door closing with bars and locks behind us. It is 
in a solitary situation ; and is exposed, particularly 
during the present disturbances in Bethlehem, to 
the rude demands of the Arabs, who, could they 
force an entrance, would prove not very courteous 
guests. 

It is a wearisome eeremony, especially when any 
business presses, to have to receive pipes, sweet- 
meats, and coffee. Such, however, is the usage; 
and he would be thought a barbarian, who should 
decline, in certain circumstances, to receive the 
compliment. Such discourtesy would have been 
particularly felt by the Superior of this Convent, to 
whom we were introduced by a Letter from the 
Bishop of Nazareth, and who in this solitude seems 
to have nearly nothing to do. 



JERUSALEM. 225 

We were taken over the whole building, which, 
with several courts to it, may contain sixty or se- 
venty rooms, for the reception of Pilgrims. It is 
at present occupied by this Monk, a native of La- 
rissa : and three or four nearly superannuated men, 
who are employed as domestics, bat who seem not 
to have one idea beyond the walls of the Mona- 
stery. I remarked, particularly, one of these inmates, 
who seems, either from want of society or want of 
employment, to have sunk into a state of almost 
ideotic vacancy. 

This was, originally, an Iberian Convent ; and, in 
the spacious but dilapidated Church, there is a great 
number of portraits of Georgian Kings and Queens, 
executed in the rudest style on the walls, with in- 
scriptions in the Georgian character. In a recess 
behind the altar, they shew the ground wherein, as 
they pretend, grew the tree from which the Cross 
was made on which Christ was crucified : and, that 
Credulity may not want her shew of evidence, or at 
least her outward visible sign, a small circular hole, 
of a few inches diameter, is exhibited, before which 
a lighted lamp is suspended ; and here the original 
tree is said to have stood. 

In various parts of this extensive, but now de- 
serted establishment, considerable expense has very 
recently been bestowed, in suitably furnishing iron 
railings and other accommodations. This was the 
work of the late Procopius, Superintendant of this 
Patriarchate. He was a man of great ability and 
spirit ; and he flourished at a time when prosperity 
filled the Greek coffers with opulent resources. His 
death, about two years ago, was a serious loss to 



22G JOURNAL. 

the Bible Society, whose cause he had heartily 
espoused. 

The Library, into which we were after some time 
introduced, proved to be a small room, full of dust; 
and so dark, that we were obliged to hold, every 
one of us, a candle in his hand : the books lay in 
heaps, some on the floor, the rest on bending shelves. 
At the beginning of this year, the American Mis- 
sionaries classed them according to languages ; and 
this circumstance has facilitated my researches. 
There may be four or five hundred volumes of dif- 
ferent kinds : the principal part of these are in the 
Georgian Language, thick folios in manuscript. As 
I was given to understand that a person from St. 
Petersburg had visited this Convent, and made a 
selection of such volumes as might be useful to the 
Bible Society, and as there is not at present in 
Jerusalem any person who understands this lan- 
guage, I contented myself with obtaining one folio 
and one quarto. The rest are in Ethiopic, Arme- 
nian, Syrian, Arabic, Greek, and Latin. Of the 
Ethiopic, I made a more copious selection : but, 
unhappily, these Manuscripts are in a mutilated 
condition ; and, excepting Psalters, do not contain 
much of the Scriptures. The Greek and Latin are 
few in number, and chiefly printed books. 

Just before our leaving the Convent, a peasant of 
the neighbourhood called for a pledge which had 
been left by him. It was a woman's head-dress, 
made, according to the fashion of the country, of 
pieces-of-money ; and fitting the head like a close 
helmet, strapped under the chin by a band of simi- 
lar texture of coins. As these pieces-of-money 



JERUSALEM. 227 

were of the lowest value in circulation, this head- 
dress might be of the value of 20 or 30 shillings 
only; but, when of gold, a Lady will carry from 
five to ten pounds 5 worth upon her head ; some- 
times much more : and even dirty children, playing 
in the streets, will be seen with gold pieces about 
their head-dress, to the value of five or ten shillings. 

After the pledge was given, and the man gone, 
the Superior begged us, on our departure, to take 
a particular road on the other side of the Monastery, 
lest our visit should be observed ; as it might, pro- 
bably, occasion him to be troubled with questions : 
such is the state of apprehension and precaution in 
which they are obliged to live. 

ARMENIANS. 

Monday, Dec. 4, 1823 — Having, a few days ago, 
sent to the Armenian Patriarch a Letter of Intro- 
duction which I had for him, I went, this morning, 
and had an interview with him. This Convent is 
far more splendid than any other building in Jeru- 
salem ; and declares at once the opulence of its 
possessors. The Patriarch himself sits on a divan 
which is quite princely, and speaks in a slow and 
dignified manner. He complained of being indis- 
posed ; and left his two Bishops, who were sitting on 
the opposite side of the divan, to support the con- 
versation. Many inquiries and replies of ceremony 
occupied the first minutes ; as also the introduction 
of coffee, sweets, and wine — the wine of a very 
great age. 

I endeavoured, as well as I could, to touch, in 
geographical order, on those places with which the 
Armenians have most connexion. They have four 

Q 2 



228 JOURNAL. 

Patriarchates at present — Echmiazin, Jerusalem, 
Constantinople, and Sis : of these, Echmiazin, in 
Persia, is the first. To my inquiry, if they enjoyed 
protection there, they expressed themselves as being 
in a better state under the Persians than under the 
Turks. In Calcutta, under British Government, 
they acknowledge, with pleasure, that they have 
perfect protection. On my prosecuting that topic, 
one of the Bishops sitting opposite to me, whose 
name I was afterward told is Garabee, said that he 
had visited Calcutta, about eleven years ago : as 
this was previous to the arrival of Bishop Middle- 
ton in India, I gave them some account of the Ec- 
clesiastical Establishment now existing there, and 
the name of the present Bishop ; and expressed a 
hope that their Churches and ours would become 
acquainted upon Indian ground. 

Prin ting-Presses for the Armenian Language they 
have at Constantinople, in Russia, and in Venice. 
On my mentioning what modern Armenian Books I 
had found in Paris, such as Rollin, Robinson Crusoe, 
&c, they informed me, that the style of those trans- 
lations is good. Of the modern Version of the New 
Testament executing in Paris, they had not seen a 
specimen. With regard to the style of modern Ar- 
menian, they recommended the neighbourhood of 
Erivan, rather than Erzerum, where the Armenian 
is vulgar. 

I was particularly desirous to know if they had 
any communications with Samarcand, or Bukharia ; 
but, after pronouncing these names in every possible 
way, they could give me no information, about the 
places ; and Bishop Garabee said that they travelled 
to India by the way of the Persian Gulph. As they 



JERUSALEM. 229 

were equally curious to know my motive for asking 
about those places, I directed their attention to the 
opinion that many Jews, and probably the Ten 
Tribes, exist there ; which brought up the mention 
of Mr. Wolff, of whose movements they were much 
interested to hear. 

I was anxious to bring the subject of Abyssinia 
before them ; and inquired if they still kept up the 
communion with that country, which formerly they 
had been in the habit of doing ; and for which they 
enjoy a peculiar degree of facility, from their Church 
holding the same doctrines with the Abyssinian 
Church. They gave little satisfation on this head : 
indeed they said, that, at present, they have no in- 
tercourse with Abyssinia. I explained my views as 
well as I could through the Interpreter ; stating, 
that, as both England and the Armenians were 
friends to Abyssinia, and the Armenians peculiarly 
so, it would give us pleasure if the Armenians, when 
voyaging to the Red Sea, would assist us in our en- 
deavours to convey the Scriptures to Abyssinia. 

I intimated a wish to see their Library ; but they 
stated that they had no old or very curious books to 
shew ; and on my more particularly specifying the 
Acts of their Councils, the proposal was turned off 
in a manner that evinced a decided unwillingness to 
enter on such subjects. Their opinions are, indeed, 
thus far known — that they admit only the first Three 
General Councils, and break off from the Greek 
Church at the fourth ; but the subsequent National 
Councils of the Armenians I have not seen. I had 
a particular wish to see those which relate to the 
celibacy of the Clergy. 

The Patriarch offered me a room in the Convent, 



230 JOURNAL. 

which I said that I should gladly have accepted, had 
J not found one already prepared for me by a friend 
in Mar Michael. He asked if I wished to see their 
Church : this question, as the servant at the same 
time came to sprinkle rose-water upon my hands, 
I took as a polite hint that the conversation had 
been sufficiently protracted ; and therefore, after an 
interchange of compliments similar to that at enter- 
ing, I withdrew. 

CHURCH OF THE ARMENIAN CONVENT. 

The Patriarch's Secretary then took me to see the 
Church. It is more splendid than any thing else in 
Jerusalem, not excepting the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, although this latter is considerably larger. 
The walls of the Armenian Church are lined with a 
kind of glazed Dutch pottery, with pictures of 
Sacred Story and Armenian Inscriptions upon them. 
On one side is a small chapel, brilliantly adorned 
and lighted up, with a picture of St. James's head : 
the head itself, they say, is in Spain. The Convent 
is dedicated to this Apostle, and is built, they say, 
upon and around the very spot where he was be- 
headed by order of Herod. On the opposite side is 
a very large Chapel for the females : adjoining to 
this Convent is an Armenian Nunnery. On the 
left-hand, as you face the great Altar of the Church, 
is a splendid spacious pulpit ; but Sermons are not 
preached here: it is used for the purpose of the 
customary Procession, in which one of the Priests or 
Deacons, gorgeously arrayed, and surrounded with 
many lighted tapers, solemnly ascends the pulpit, 
and reads, or rather chaunts, a portion of the Go- 
spel. From the lofty ceiling are suspended many 



JERUSALEM. 231 

lamps, and also numerous ostrich eggs, which seve- 
ral servants were keeping clean with long bunches 
of soft feathers. Every thing has an air of Oriental 
splendour, too glittering and gaudy for our simpler 
Occidental taste. 

While we were wandering here, another Bishop 
entered the Church from a side-door. These, with 
two more whom I subsequently saw in the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre, make, in addition to the 
Patriarch, five Bishops. I had been informed that 
there are fourteen in all. They are not constantly 
residing here, but occasionally visit the other Mo- 
nasteries ; of which, in the Holy Land, there are 
four — namely, this one within the city, one just with- 
out the walls, one at Bethlehem, and one at Rama; 
besides the adjoining Nunnery in the City. 

JEWS. 

Friday, Dec. 5, 1823 — A little before noon, we 
called on Rabbi Mendel ; a Jewish Rabbi, of some 
consideration on account of his Talmudical Learn- 
ing. There is frequent mention of him in Mr. 
Wolff's Journals. He had, at his side, a volume of 
the Talmud ; and he is greatly in repute for his skill 
in these works. 

It is, in myself, a mixed feeling of inability and 
disinclination to enter upon such studies, which 
restrains me from taking up the question with the 
Jew s on that ground. Mr. Wolff, who is not desti- 
tute of the ability, yet latterly has grown — and I 
think it a more likely way for success — disinclined 
to argue with them from the Talmud ; but presses 
on them the Law, the Prophets, and the GospeL 
He did, indeed, procure a Jew to sift out of the 



232 JOURNAL. 

Talmud all passages in favour of Christianity ; and, 
in the course of their research, they also found, 
among these writings, many passages so absurd, 
that the Jews themselves do not like to have them 
produced. But the detection of these absurdities 
does not much aid the cause of truth : men can bear 
a great deal of absurdity to be proved against them, 
and against their party or system, without changing 
sides ; and, frequently, the more we point out par- 
tial weaknesses or errors, the more tenaciously do 
they cling to their own opinion. Mr. Wolff has lat- 
terly told them, that is, during his second visit to Jeru- 
salem, that, unless they quit the Talmud, it is im- 
possible that they should " think straight." Think- 
ing straight has evident reference to some straight 
rule of opinion ; and this rule is the Laiv and the 
Testimony. From what I can learn concerning the 
disputes and studies of the Rabbies of Jerusalem — 
with whom I am unable to converse much, from not 
knowing German — they seem to be men ever learn- 
ing, but never able to come to the knowledge of the 
truth. 

OPPRESSIONS SUFFERED BY THE JEWS. 

In addition to a certain wild abstracted gaze, 
which nature and Talmudical studies have given to 
the countenance of Rabbi Mendel, he was further 
suffering from terror, the impression of which was 
not yet effaced from his mind ; he having been, 
about a week before, forcibly seized in the night, 
and carried off to prison by order of the new 
Governor. The pretext alleged was, that his street- 
door had been left open in the night : for this he was 
compelled to pay a heavy fine of three purses; about 



JERUSALEM. 233 

37/. sterling. The officer, who apprehended him, 
burst with violence into his inner chamber — waked 
him — spurned all his protestations of his having 
European protection — he having an Austrian Fir- 
man ; and forthwith took him, his disciple Rabbi 
Isaac, and two others, to the prison, from which, 
after twenty four-hours' confinement, and the pay- 
ment of the fine, they were set at liberty. He was 
proposing to go for relief to the Consul at Acre : 
from the Austrian Consul at Tiberias he expected 
nothing, as that Gentleman, himself a Jew, proba- 
bly finds it as much as he can do to secure protec- 
tion for his own declining old age. Rabbi Mendel 
preferred going, in person, to writing : for if it were 
known in Jerusalem that he had written, it would 
subject him to fresh insults or exactions. How 
truly is that threat accomplished — Thy life shall 
hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt fear day and 
night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life ! 
(Deut. xxviii. 66). The money was, clearly, the 
sole motive for this proceeding — a new Governor, 
in this devoted city, generally making his advances, 
by rapid steps, first to the Jews, next to the Greeks 
and Armenians, and finally to the Latins. Nor 
have these any appeal : their only relief is, by cun- 
ning and intrigue, to throw the burden as much as 
possible upon the shoulders of their neighbours ; 
or to plead their inability to meet the demands 
of the Governor, who always begins by bidding 
high. The parties from whom the demand is made 
being either put in prison or otherwise annoyed, 
part of their policy is to endure as long as nature 
can bear the unjust infliction ; thus proving, by 
their willingness to suffer, their inability to pay. 



234 JOURNAL. 

The other party of the Jews, the Sephartim, being 
much more numerous, were soon obliged to pay a 
much larger sum. Four of their principal men were, 
during these days, thrown into prison ; from which 
they were not released till the bargain was adjusted. 
Some, whom we inquired after, had secreted them- 
selves in their neighbours' houses. 

JEWISH PLACE OF WEEPING. 

Rabbi Isaac conducted us to see an interesting 
spot, to which the Jews frequently resort on the 
afternoon of Friday. It is on the outer side of the 
wall of the Mosque of Omar. Within the area 
which surrounds the Mosque, none may enter, un- 
der pain of death, unless he becomes a Mahomedan : 
but, at a particular part of the outside of the sur- 
rounding buildings, the Jews have the permission, 
for w hich they pay money, to assemble every Friday, 
to pray. There were only eight while we were 
there ; but at a later hour, probably, there would be 
more. On other occasions they are numerous ; but 
the measures of the new Governor have thrown 
them into consternation, so that they are not so 
forward to shew themselves. I observed, as we 
passed through the Jew Quarter — and upon many 
faces, in most parts of Jerusalem — a timid expres- 
sion of countenance, called in Scripture a pining 
away : with a curiosity that desires to know every 
thing concerning a stranger, there is, at the same 
time, a slinking away from the curiosity of others. 
We stood awhile with the worshippers at this spot ; 
which they regard as close to the place, where, in 
ancient times, the Shechinah was : and, though the 
glory of the Lord has departed, they still venerate 



JERUSALEM. 235 

the place where He once manifested His presence. 
To worship here must be the summit of their desires : 
it seems to be somewhat in the spirit of Davids vow, 
In thy fear will I worship toward thy Holy Temple. 

We particularly observed the strength of this part 
of the wall. It is built of large and well-hewn 
stones : one of the largest of these I measured, and 
found it to be eight-and-a-half feet English by three- 
and-a-half. Of these, there are nine tiers : out of 
which seven seem to be of the above-mentioned 
thickness of three-feet- and- a-half, the uppermost 
two being a little narrower. The wall runs up still 
further about twenty feet : but this upper part is 
built of smaller stones ; giving, as the whole height, 
about fifty feet. It is not to be supposed that these 
larger stones are of the date of Solomon's Temple : 
but it seems by no means unlikely, that they should 
have composed part of the Second Temple ; and 
that, after having been thrown down, so that not one of 
them stood upon another, they have been subse- 
quently collected as fit for building. They are in 
fact far more superb than what any other part of the 
City can boast ; excepting those portions of the 
wall which face toward the east, and which are 
built of similar large stones. It was concerning 
some of these, probably, that the Disciples remarked, 
Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings 
are here ! They are, independently of the contrast 
with the meaner buildings of the City, such as in any 
spot would excite admiration, at the skill and labour 
which must have been bestowed on them, 

OPPRESSIONS SUFFERED BY THE GREEKS, 

Having mentioned the oppressions suffered by the 



230 JOURNAL. 

Jews, I will add an instance of a similar kind in- 
flicted on the Greeks ; premising that it is only a 
specimen of what they are continually liable to suf- 
fer, and actually do suffer. 

A few days after our arrival, a Greek, who occu- 
pied the next room to ours in the Convent, suddenly 
disappeared : so also did another Young Man be- 
longing to the Convent ; and likewise a Greek, who 
passes for a Physician in the City. In a few days, 
we learnt that they were in prison : from whence, 
after remaining there eight days, they were released 
on the payment of money ; and we heard the story 
from themselves when at liberty. The charge, on 
which they were committed, was their having aided 
in ransoming a Greek Girl of Crete from a Turk in 
whose possession she was : on the arrival of the 
new Governor this was laid hold of as a pretext for 
imprisonment and further exaction. The one who 
lived next to us was persecuted, even after his libe- 
ration, by the Officers ; three of whom beset his door 
for the payment of 60 piastres (about 1/. 10s. ster- 
ling) alleged to be due to them — the first for putting 
on his irons, the second for taking them off, and the 
third for bringing him his food in the prison. These 
claims he endeavoured to elude, by retiring, in the 
day-time, to another house. He was preparing also 
to escape, as soon as possible, into Egypt. 

TRACT, BY THE AUTHOR, ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

This evening Pappas Ysa sat with me some time, 
while I described to him the plan of a Tract which 
I am writing on the subject of the Holy Spirit. I 
read parts of it to him, and requested his opinion, 
He seemed surprised, I thought, that I should be 



JERUSALEM. 287 

writing such a Tract. Probably few persons in the 
Levant apprehend, as yet, how well their Condition 
is understood in England, or how much we feel in- 
terested in their Opinions and Customs : especially 
how much we take to heart the Corruptions which 
the Great Enemy has succeeded in introducing into 
their Churches. On the other hand, possibly, some 
of my friends also at home might be surprised, did 
they know that a large part of my time is spent in 
Jerusalem in the writing of this Tract. They would 
say, " Leave sedentary composition for your return 
to Malta : abroad, be in constant motion." Every 
one must, in these things, be, in a considerable de- 
gree, a rule to himself. I have already made the 
attempt, but without success, in Malta. One of the 
objects which I proposed, therefore, to execute 
during my present tour, was to write this Tract, 
while surrounded by the scenes to which it has re- 
ference. I have, in the course of its preparation, 
availed myself of the friendly suggestions and criti- 
cisms of all my Missionary Brethren on the spot : 
and they are not a few *. I have also communicated 
various ideas on the subject to Natives, and have 
watched the course of their remarks : it is interest- 
ing to observe what ideas chiefly affect their ima- 
gination : one topic most caught the attention of my 
present auditor — " Kings will rule in righteousness, 
and subjects obey with cheerfulness." " Ah !" he 
said, " if there were a good Government to protect 
Christianity, something might be hoped !" He also 
expressed his apprehensions that the great efforts 

* The number of Missionaries who have visited this Land within 
the compass of less than one year, has been eight. Of these, I have 
had the benefit of free and full conversation with all, except one. 



238 JOURNAL. 

now making* for the dissemination of religious 
knowledge might last for only a time ; and, after 
having done some good, languish — leaving the world 
to relapse into its old course. He was perfectly 
open and ingenuous in his expressions and manner. 
He deeply impressed me with the conviction that 
there must be something higher than human wisdom 
and resolution to sustain here the hopes and mea- 
sures of Christian Men. 

POPULATION OF JERUSALEM. 

Rabbi Mendel is a principal Rabbi among the Sect 
of the Ashkenasim, or Polish Jews; who, at present, 
are but very few in number in Jerusalem. The Se- 
phartim, or Spanish Jews, have long been established 
here ; and are said to have six or seven hundred 
houses. It is difficult, from this statement, to sup- 
pose that the Jews should amount to more than five 
thousand : but it is no part of their system, or of the 
system of the other Religious Bodies, to shew their 
numbers. Admitting this, however, to be near the 
truth, if then, somewhat more than five thousand 
should be given to the Mussulmans, and somewhat 
less than five thousand to the Christians, it would 
give fifteen thousand for the population of Jerusa- 
lem ; which is the very greatest amount of popula- 
tion that I should be inclined to give to this City, 
from observing its area from the Mount of Olives. 
It has, indeed, been rated at twenty thousand, and 
even higher. I should think that fifteen thousand 
was too high ; and should not be very unwilling to 
rate it at twelve thousand. In this calculation, of 
course the Pilgrims are omitted — who are crowded 
into the Convents, and fill up many spaces which are 



JERUSALEM. 239 

vacant nine months in the year, augmenting the po- 
pulation by some few thousands. 



CiESARIUS, A GREEK ECCLESIASTIC. 

Sunday, Dec. 7, 1823 — In the afternoon, we had 
a long and interesting conversation with a young 
Greek Ecclesiastic, named Ceesarius. He is very in- 
telligent, and very desirous of general knowledge. 
The conversation was entirely on religion ; and gra- 
dually came to subjects .concerning which the 
Romish and the Oriental Churches are accustomed 
to speak very positively — the washing away of Ori- 
ginal Sin in Baptism ; and the identity of Baptism 
and Regeneration. Scripture was the standard to 
which we constantly appealed. Of each proposi- 
tion we carefully inquired, " Where does God, in 
His Word, declare this ?" The effect produced on 
the mind of our Visitor was, apparently, an abate- 
ment of the self-confident, and an increase of the in- 
quiring, spirit. The passage at which he principally 
seemed to be at check was I Peter iii. 21. After 
watching and assisting the turn of the discussion for 
about an hour, I left him with Mr. Fisk, who was 
holding him close to Scripture — the only method 
likely to succeed ; for should we wander on the 
ground of the authority of the Fathers, it would pro- 
bably be only to prove these fallible writers guilty of 
mutual contradictions, and sometimes of inconsist- 
ency even with themselves. 

CONVERSATION WITH THE BISHOP OF NAZARETH. 

Monday, Dec. 8 — I went, in the course of 
the afternoon, to see the Bishop of Nazareth, 
Daniel, on the subject of the Manuscripts at the 



240 JOURNAL. 

Convent of the Holy Cross. The books which I 
selected for more particular examination are brought 
into the City, and will be delivered on my sending 
for them. 

The Bishop was inquisitive to know of what Rite 
my servant was. I gladly availed myself of the op- 
portunity of explaining to him in what light I re- 
garded these differences. The Youth, I told him, 
is, by profession, of the Latin Church : but I did not, 
on taking him into my service, inquire into that 
matter ; but merely desired him, in the morning and 
evening, to come to us when we read the Bible and 
pray together ; to which he never made the least 
objection ; but, on the contrary, seems to be pleased 
with it. 

The Bishop was very attentive, and spoke little ; 
so that, as I feared to appear to trespass on his 
feelings, the conversation was often suspended. 
Indeed I thought I perceived a great degree of de- 
jection on his countenance. 

Presently, it being three o'clock, our attention 
was roused by the voice of the Mowedden from one 
of the Minarets, calling the Mahomedans to their 
usual prayers of that hour. The Bishop mourn- 
fully turned to me, and exclaimed, "Ea>s t6t& ; " How 
long ?" His few and simple words quite sunk into 
my heart. I said it was truly painful to hear that 
voice in the Holy City ; and that I viewed with 
sincere sympathy the present distresses which they 
suffer. " Our sins !" he slowly replied, " The mea- 
sure of our punishment is not yet filled up !" I 
could only assent by the motion of my head. 

I then acquainted him that I was writing a Tract, 
in which I wished to address his Nation in as con- 



JERUSALEM. 24 1 

solatory a manner as I could ; but added, 6 ' It will 
not all of it be consolatory." He plainly took my 
meaning, as one who saw that it was impossible to 
speak, agreeably to truth, of a suffering Nation, 
without also saying something concerning their sins. 
Yet I never felt more, than I did at this interview, 
a desire to address them with tenderness ; and that 
verse (Isaiah 1. 4) was brought with fresh feeling 
into my memory, The Lord God hath given me 
the tongue of the learned, that I might speak a ivord 
in season to him that is weary. How difficult to do 
this! It is easy to chide, with justice; but it is a 
high attainment, learned only in the School of Suffer- 
ing, to reprove with a merciful spirit. Neither may 
we rebuke an Elder ; and the Tract must speak to 
many Bishops and Dignitaries, whom I am bound 
rather to entreat as Fathers. 

To his expression, which he would ever and anon 
sigh forth — " How long! Lord, how long !" — I, at 
length, made some reply, drawn from the interpre- 
tation of Prophecy. He listened with great interest ; 
for on no topic is it more easy to gain an eager ear 
in the East, than on the mysterious and unknown 
future. I limited myself, however, to general allu- 
sions to the period of 1260 years, now apparently 
drawing to its close ; and endeavoured to exhibit, 
also, some of those signs of the times, which indi- 
cate the approach of an important crisis — particu- 
larly mentioning the Bible Society, and the System 
of General Education. As I described the convul- 
sions which shake the Continent of Europe from the 
West to the East, he mentioned the affairs of Spain 
as being settled ; and seemed, therefore, to infer, 
that no good had resulted from that movement, 

R 



242 JOURNAL. 

After noticing that the Revolutions in the West had 
been conducted very much by men who disbelieve 
the Christian Religion, I asked whether it might not 
be part of a merciful dispensation, not to suffer such 
men to attain all that they grasp at, lest they should 
overthrow Christianity. He entered into this view ; 
and seemed fully sensible, that change, without 
Christian Principle, was always to be mistrusted. 
I seized the moment to press again the unspeakable 
advantage of the labours of the Bible Society — 
filling the world with Divine Light, at the moment 
when the nations appear restless for innovation. 
On this topic, it is peculiarly grateful to find the 
Greek Church favourable. 

I retired from this interview with spirits unusually 
depressed. I had felt, throughout the whole con- 
versation, that my heart was drawn in contrary 
directions — on the one hand, by emotions of pity for 
these suffering Orientals ; and, on the other, by a 
view, every day augmenting, of their sinful blind- 
ness and unchristian superstitions. While Humanity 
pleads for them, Christian Faithfulness cannot acquit 
them as innocent. 

REFLECTIONS ON THE STATE OF THE CHRISTIANS. 

On reaching home, I unburdened my heart ; and 
could not help exclaiming, " I have not spent one 
happy day in Jerusalem ?" My Missionary Brother 
readily sympathized with me. 

How can it be otherwise than a matter of constant 
sorrow, to contemplate the state of things here? 

The Convents are either suffering, or expecting 
to suffer, continual extortions. Were some mad- 
dening intelligence of successful operations of the 



JERUSALEM. 243 

Greeks to arrive here, it is not unlikely that the 
Turks might be exasperated to such a degree, as to 
rise and massacre numbers of Christians. 

The Christians themselves, instead of being in 
any sense united, seem to watch for one another's 
halting ; and the centre, round which their petty 
politics revolve, is the possession of some Holy 
Place. Under colour of reverence for the great 
Mysteries of Redemption, they have here esta- 
blished a Metropolis, as it were, of lucrative will- 
worship, and of most plausible tyranny over the 
minds of Devotees. It is in this that the spiritual 
Christian discerns the secret cause of the Divine 
Judgments upon them. 

The Doctrine of the Merit of Pilgrimages has, 
for nearly fifteen hundred years, been the standing 
order of the Christians of Jerusalem. Yet of the 
deep-rooted error of this system, who are so insensi- 
ble as the Ecclesiastics themselves ? Probably in 
reading the Lamentations — still, in many points, 
most pathetically applicable to Jerusalem — they 
would appropriate this verse as depicting their state 
— The iv ays of Zion do mourn, because none come to 
the solemn feasts. This, in a literal sense, is exactly 
the case at present. During the last years, since 
the Greek Revolution, the Greeks have had no Pil- 
grims : they dare not, cannot come : of those who 
came in 1821, when the late Mr. Parsons was at Je- 
rusalem, many, on their return homeward, perished 
in consequence of the general massacres ; and there 
were probably very few, who were able to find a 
safe asylum from the Turks. To the Latin Con- 
vent, also, not many individuals now make pilgrim- 
ages; and pecuniary remittances seldom come from 

ii 2 



244 JOURNAL. 

Europe, in consequence of the troubles in Spain 
and Naples. The Armenians alone, at present, 
prosper. 

These are the afflictions of the Convents ; and 
they see not, that, by these judgments, God is mark- 
ing His displeasure against the whole system of 
Monasticism and the whole traffic of Pilgrimages. 
From none should we have so reluctant an acknow- 
ledgment of this, as from the Ecclesiastics, who 
manage the springs of these systems : they would 
probably confess any thing or every thing about 
them to be sinful, rather than Monasticism and Pil- 
grimages ; and, to give up the Sanctity of Jerusalem, 
would be to them like renouncing the Faith of the 
Gospel. 

While these fundamental and long-standing cor- 
ruptions of the Romish and Oriental Churches re- 
main in force, they will never discern what is the 
voice of God against them : their very sufferings (it 
is melancholy to think) will harden, rather than 
soften them ; for they will not attain to an enlight- 
ened, unfeigned, and unreserved humiliation. No 
verse in the Lamentations has affected me so much 
as (his — Thy Prophets have seen vain and foolish 
tilings for thee : and they have not discovered their 
iniquity to turn aivay ihy captivity ; but have seen 
for thee false burdens and causes of banish- 
ment. When and how will the Prophets, them- 
selves, be brought to acknowledge their iniquity 
and their fraud ? Or how will they be induced to 
abdicate that illegitimate power, which they possess 
over ignorant minds? 

The more the circumstances of Jerusalem are re- 
flected upon, the more they wound the heart. They 



JERUSALEM. 245 

may be well represented thus : — The Latins live by 
remittances from Spain and other Roman-Catholic 
Powers — the Greeks and Armenians, by the contri- 
butions of the Pilgrims — the Jews, by collections 
made in all the world, and by alms brought by de- 
votees of their religion — the Turk, in the midst of 
them, by exacting money from all. There is a little 
common traffic in the city and neighbourhood, but 
very little stir or activity. Foreign purses are the 
resource to which they principally look: when these 
fail, they pine and murmur*. 

If any should doubt on what their hearts are prin- 
cipally set, he might ask within himself — " On what 
account would these people chiefly desire the re- 
storation of the Levant to peace and order? or for 
what reason would they wish to see the Christians 
gain the upper hand ? Would it be, that they might 
extend the faithful preaching of the pure Gospel I 
Or would it not be, that the numerous Pilgrims might 
flock, with augmented enthusiasm, to repair the pe- 
cuniary desolations inflicted by the present war?" 

It is, in fact, a most remarkable feature in the 
present distresses, that the current of extortion sets 
in with especial violence on the Convents ; and, 
consequently, on the whole Monastic System. The 
Monasteries, supposed to be the depositories of trea- 
sure, attract the cupidity of the Turks. And should 
the present system of exaction be long protracted, 
it must inevitably prove the extinction of the re- 
sources of the Convents ; and consequently, in the 
end, the ruin of the Monastic System. Rapacious 

* " The City is without trade, and consequently exceedingly poor. 
Its principal revenue consists in the profit gained from the Pilgrims." 

{Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, Vol. I. p. 420.) 



240 JOURNAL. 

tyranny merits our indignation, and individual suf- 
ferings claim our pity ; but, in such an event — the 
extinction, I mean, of the Monastic System — Rea- 
son, Decorum, Nature, Christianity, would all exult. 
Nor does it appear to human calculation in any way 
probable, that such a system will be relinquished, 
except from the severe and compulsory chastise- 
ments of a Divine Hand. 

An expression, which, a few days ago, I met with 
in a work of the learned Assemann, not a little ex- 
cited my feelings on this subject. His words, to 
which I allude, are — " But when the Monastic Sy- 
stem had been propagated throughout all the East — ." 
He is, in that paragraph, extolling the benefits of 
Monasticism : but no complacency passed over my 
mind while I perused his remarks — indignation ra- 
ther, to think that so unnatural a system has been so 
extensively and for so many ages propagated in the 
world. 

Such was the train of my feelings, as I took my 
evening walk upon the terrace of the Convent, with 
my face often turned toward the Mount of Olives. 
Many conflicting emotions passed through my 
breast, excited by what I perpetually see and hear 
in these Countries and in this City. And Oh ! if in 
the midst of these people we could find some who 
might, spiritually, be said to mourn in Zion, with 
what delight should we rather speak of that garment 
of praise, which should be given them in place of the 
spirit of heaviness! But when, so far as we see, there 
is none that stirreth up himself to lay hold on God, 
what rescue is left ? The heart is ready to sink under 
the awful apprehension, that, where truth has so 
long failed of obtaining admission, judgment must 



JERUSALEM, 247 

enter ; and, where men will not tear up their rooted 
errors of more than a thousand years' standing, pro- 
bably the desolations of war may be sent, as the 
only effectual instrument to abolish inveterate and 
beloved evils. 

JEWS IN ABYSSINIA. 

Monday, Dec. 10, 1823 — In the course of the 
evening, Rabbi Isaac called ; with another young 
Jew, who has travelled as far as London. They as- 
sume this title " Rabbi" at so very early an age, that 
it surprises a person who has been accustomed to 
connect it with the idea of venerable years and learn- 
ing. They marry also extremely young. 

The Abyssinian Priest coming in, we obtained a 
little information concerning the condition of the 
Jews in his country. He stated that there are many 
in Gondar — a few in Samen ; and he had heard, but 
could not declare it from having been there, that, at 
Kuarka, the Jews are very numerous — that the inha- 
bitants are nearly all Jews. I had hitherto under- 
stood, that, in Abyssinia, Jews were only to be 
found in Gondar, where they are known by the 
name of Falasha. He gave some account of the 
rigour with which they attend to certain ceremonial 
purifications, in a manner more severe than is prac- 
tised even by the Jews of Jerusalem : this rigour was 
highly applauded by the Jews present : it had par- 
ticular relation to the treatment of females. 

We gave Rabbi Isaac a Hebrew and an Arabic 
New-Testament. On my wishing to point out to him 
Stephen's Sermon in Acts vii. and particularly the 
application of it at verse 51, he was so fearful of my 
taking the books from him, that he would not let me 



248 JOURNAL. 

have them to shew him the place. I therefore looked 
for another copy, and referred him to the page. 

Thursday, Dec. 11, 1823— We called on Ysa 
Petros, and found him surrounded with papers, 
translations, &c. He evinces a general love of know- 
ledge, and a desire to communicate knowledge. Be- 
sides several Maps drawn by his own hand, and with 
the names of places in Arabic, he has made some 
small Globes celestial and terrestrial, the w orkman- 
ship being entirely his own. 

MOSQUE OF OMAR. 

We, afterward, w r aited on the Governor. The ap- 
proach to his residence, the residence itself, and the 
aspect of his Court are all so destitute of what 
would be expected from his station, that 1 forbear to 
describe them. He asked some questions, which 
were far from courteous : being answered with re- 
serve and distance on our part, he suddenly became 
very complaisant, repeated the compliment of sher- 
bet, pressed us not to hurry away, and spoke of the 
hospitality due to strangers. The only favour which 
we had to ask of him, was permission to go on 
the roof of his house, which overlooks the Mosque 
of Omar, the Sakkara el Aksa, and the surrounding 
spacious area of which his house forms one side. 
As we were the first since his new government 
who have asked this, he had to inquire of his attend- 
ants whether it was Adet (Custom). Being answered 
in the affirmative, he gave us leave, and we went up. 

Here we had a view of this very interesting spot; 
within which had we set our foot, the penalty must 
have been either death or the embracing of the Ma- 
homedan Faith. Can any thing be more absurd, 



JERUSALEM. 249 

unjust, or harshly oppressive ? Let insult offered to 
any, even the most absurd religion, suffer condign 
punishment : but is it possible that the followers of 
Mahomed can be gratified by such an extorted con- 
version to their faith ; or thirst for the blood of a 
man, who shall, in a moment of temerity, have 
touched the mere earthly precincts of one of their 
sanctuaries ? We availed ourselves of the moment 
attentively to survey the solemn scene before us — 
where, once, that wonder and praise of the whole 
earth, Solomon's Temple, stood. The ample area 
is, in some parts, covered with turf : in others, the 
bare rock shews itself ; and a few scattered trees 
scarcely suffice to give it the title of picturesque. 
The dome of the Mosque is a truly noble specimen 
of taste ; but, pressing too low upon the subjacent 
part of the structure, it overwhelms the symmetry of 
the whole : it is, in fact, best viewed at a distance, 
when it is seen apart from the lower building with 
which it is connected, and standing pre-eminent for 
beauty among the buildings of the City — a pre-emi- 
nence, however, diminished by its mournful defect 
in moral beauty. Here, they of the captivity in 
Ezra's days, Priests and Levites, and Chief of the 
fathers, ivho were ancient men that had seevi the First 
House, ivept ivith a loud voice on beholding the infe- 
riority of the Second. Here, the Hebrew and the 
Christian may now, also, mingle their tears over the 
violation of the True Faith. Here, are neither the 
holy precepts of the Law nor the inviting promises 
of the Gospel, to dignify or to endear the place. 
This splendid edifice, surmounted with the Crescent, 
serves only to exhibit to all the world this desecrated 
spot, as a central monument of Divine Vengeance, 



250 JOURNAL. 

It may, spiritually, be called an Abomination of Deso- 
lation standing in the Holy Place, where it ought not. 

In the afternoon of that day, we waited on the two 
Epitropi of the Greek Convent, in order to speak 
with them on the subject of the Apocryphal Books 
of Scripture. We had a very explicit conversation 
on this topic, in which Daniel chiefly engaged ; his 
Colleague, Agios Petras, being very feeble from the 
effects of his late fever, and not manifesting any par- 
ticular turn for theological discussion. They will 
send to us, from their Library, the Acts of the Seven 
General Councils, which may assist us in our pre- 
sent inquiries. 

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 

Friday, Dec. 12, 1823 — We went, this morning, 
to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

The sight which meets the eye immediately upon 
entering, as most incongruous to the idea of a Chris- 
tian Place of Worship, is a party of Turks sitting on 
the left-hand, taking their ease on the divan, smok- 
ing, and watching every Pilgrim who passes, that 
they may not lose their fee. 

The first Sacred Object to which the attention is 
attracted, is the Stone of Unction, as it is called; 
being a splendid slab, laid over the spot where the 
body of our Lord was washed and anointed and 
shrouded, previous to its interment: here, Devotees 
were prostrating themselves, and kissing the stone. 

On the right-hand, having ascended a flight of 
stairs, we entered the Chapel of the Crucifixion : 
the spot where the Cross stood is shewn under the 
altar: and, in a chapel underneath, is shewn, very 
dimly, the figure of the Rock ; concerning which, 



JERUSALEM. 251 

• Maundrell and other Travellers have related the 
tradition of Adam's scull having been found there, 
when the rock was miraculously rent. 

On the east side of the Church is the Chapel of 
the Greeks ; who, having borne the principal share 
of the expense (if not the whole) of repairing the 
Church, after a fire which, in 1808, broke out and 
consumed a considerable part of it, have repaid 
themselves by keeping possession of by far the 
largest and handsomest portion of the building. 
Their Chapel and High Altar are decked with 
very shewy pictures of Saints, after the Oriental 
fashion ; that is, almost without any regard to 
perspective. 

Passing behind the screen which separates their 
High Altar from the wall of the Church, there is a 
wide semicircular passage ; from which there is, on 
the right-hand, a descent, by many steps, to St. 
Helena's Chapel, and the Chapel of the spot where 
she is related to have found the Cross. 

At the northern extremity of this passage is the 
portion assigned to the Latins. Their Chapel is 
very far from splendid : it seems, indeed, dim and 
gloomy. One or two Devotees I observed passing 
a cane through a grate, and touching with it some 
stone or other object out of their reach ; then with- 
drawing the cane, and kissing the extremity which 
had touched the holy relique within : thus, virtue is 
transfused from the relique to the cane, and from 
the cane to the lips of the Devotee ! 

Returning to the body of the Church, we ap- 
proached the Holy Sepulchre, which is placed a 
little north of the centre. It is covered by a small 
building, which has the appearance of a Church in 



252 JOURNAL. 

Miniature. The entrance is by a small door, to 
pass through which it is necessary to stoop low ; 
and, in an instant, the visitor finds himself in a 
small chamber, not seven feet long, and allowing 
just space for two persons to pass each other be- 
tween the wall and the tomb. The Tomb, as I mea- 
sured it, is six-feet-and-a-quarter long, three wide, and 
two-feet- and-a-quarter high. Many splendid lamps, 
diffusing an oppressive heat, were hanging above 
this venerated spot. The Tomb itself is white 
marble, and designates only the place where the 
Lord lay. A Priest stood at the upper part of this 
small chamber, continually sprinkling rose-water 
upon the tomb, which shed a faint perfume around. 
While we were gazing on this spot, two or three 
Devotees came in, knelt, kissed the marble, crossed 
themselves many times, and moved their lips as in 
prayer. Our singularity, no doubt, was remarked 
by them, as we remained standing : but while we 
have no desire to offend their feelings, we have also 
no objection to their knowing that Protestants re- 
gard these ceremonies, as being vain in the sight of 
God, and detrimental to the simplicity of the Go- 
spel. I feel, moreover, that it would be difficult for 
me to rise in this place to the spirit of devotion. 
The fulsome pageantry of the scene must be first 
removed : the ground of Mount Calvary, now en- 
cumbered with Convents, Churches, and Houses, 
and disguised by splendid altars, gawdy pictures, 
and questionable reliques, must be cleared, and left 
a simple unadorned spot of nature : less precision 
in pointing out the scene of each portion of Sacred 
Story must be assumed : and, above all, this bustle 
of Ecclesiastical Apparatus must utterly vanish ; 



JERUSALEM. 258 

and the dishonouring remembrance be blotted out of 
the mind, that, to this spot, for so many centuries, 
Ignorance and Superstition have sent their millions 
of votaries, on an unwarranted message. It is this 
last-mentioned circumstance, principally, which has 
rendered my view of this place often a source of the 
deepest melancholy. 

MOUNT OF OLIVES. 

If, however, the heart desire the solace of some 
holy reminiscences, these may still be enjoyed pure 
and native, as the eye turns toward Mount Olivet. 
There, no violence, or none that merits notice, has 
been done to the simplicity of the scene. 

In pursuance of our plan, we took horses imme- 
diately on leaving the Church of the Sepulchre, to 
visit all the neighbourhood of the Mount of Olives, 
Leaving the City by the Gate of Jaffa, we wound our 
course round by the north-west angle of the walls, 
passed the Gate of Damascus which is on the north, 
and then began to descend into the Vale of the 
Brook Cedron. The aspect of all this spot has 
been already described. We crossed the brook, 
passed the Garden of Gethsemane, and began to 
ascend the Mount of Olives somewhat to the left of 
the direct path to its summit. The advantage 
gained by this was, that, by reaching a point a little 
north-west of this summit, we had a more exten- 
sive view of the Dead Sea, of the immense irregular 
ravine which leads to it commencing at the Valley 
of Jehoshaphat, and of the distant Plains and Moun- 
tains of Moab. As I glanced over these devoted 
waters, the passage of Scripture instantaneously 
came into my mind — Suffering the vengeance of 



254 JOURNAL. 

eternal fire ! In the midst of our enjoyment of 
Scriptural Antiquity, we may not screen from our 
view the awful memorials, which ever and "anon 
present themselves : all the surrounding country 
seems endeared by the remembrance of innume- 
rable acts of Divine Mercy : but what we now see 
reminds me, that God Is a God of judgment ; and 
Scripture leaves the mind in no doubt as to the 
present sufferings and the eternal doom of the inha- 
bitants of this, once fertile, Plain of Jordan. After 
gazing some minutes on the immense prospect, and 
vainly musing which point in the line of the Moun- 
tains of Moab (for there are only a few very slightly- 
elevated points) might be that Pisgah-top from 
which Moses was permitted to see this Land of 
Promise, we set forward to reach the top of Mount 
Olivet. Here is a small village, so inconsiderable 
as not to spoil the aspect of the mountain from Je- 
rusalem. Among these poor buildings is a small 
Oratory, in the centre of which is exhibited the 
spot, which, as they say, was the last touched by 
the foot of our Saviour, before the moment of His 
Ascension ! Let that pass : and let us forget that 
meddling, microscopic tradition has thus intruded 
on the sublimest of all earthly scenes — the type of 
that more awful scene, to be unfolded in the Last 
Day, when every eye shall see the Redeemer coming 
again, in like manner as he was once seen, in yonder 
very sky above me, ascending into heaven. 

VIEW OF JERUSALEM FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 

Having alighted at this village, we advanced a 
little way into the adjacent fields ; and, sheltering 
ourselves beside one of the olive-trees from the west 



JERUSALEM. 255 

wind which blew sharply, we enjoyed a fuller pro- 
spect of the City, every part of which lies plain 
before the view from this eminence. The whole of 
Jerusalem seems like one continuous hill, standing 
out singly from the midst of the surrounding moun- 
tains. To the north, east, and south, it is sur- 
rounded by the deep valley, which, in its various 
parts, has, at different times, borne the names of 
the Brook of Cedron, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, 
Tophet, and Gehinnom. On the west, the ground 
adjacent to the walls is, comparatively speaking, 
level ground ; but these walls, on the western part, 
take in a considerable number of habitations which 
did not belong to the City, and did not in fact 
exist, in the most ancient times. They include Be- 
zetha and Mount Calvary. Bezetha was added in 
the time of Herod and Pilate ; and Mount Calvary, 
which now groans beneath the weight of monastic 
piles, was probably open ground, cultivated for 
gardens, (John xix. 41) at the time when He who 
suffered without the gate (Heb. xiii. 12) there 
poured out His sold unto death. It is not difficult 
to conceive, observing from this spot the various 
undulations and slopes of the ground, that, when 
Mount Zion, A era, and Mount Moriah constituted 
the bulk of the City with a deep and steep valley 
surrounding the greater part of it, it must have been 
considered by the people of that age as nearly im- 
pregnable. It stands Beautifid for situation! — 
words which have perpetually burst from my lips as 
I have surveyed all the surrounding scenery, and 
this unique, crowning centre of the whole. It is, 
indeed, builded as a city, that is compact together 
(Ps. exxii. 3). The Kings of the Earth, and all the 



256 JOURNAL. 

inhabitants of the world, would not have believed 
that the adversary and the enemy should have entered 
into the g ates of Jerusalem ! (Lam. iv. 12. B.C. 588.) 
This was said nearly two thousand four hundred 
years ago. And when, 650 years after, Titus be- 
sieged and took this devoted City, he exclaimed, 
on view ing the vast strength of the place, " We 
have certainly had God for our assistant in this w ar ; 
and it was no other than God, who ejected the Jews 
out of these fortifications : for w hat could the hands 
of men, or any machines, do towards overthrowing 
these towers * V 

PUOBABLE SCEXE OF THE ASCENSION. 

We resumed our ride : descending by a rather 
steep declivity eastward, we lost sight of Jerusalem ; 
and had, on our right, the slope of the mountain, 
beneath or on the sides of which the direct path 
leads from Jerusalem to Bethany. To this interest- 
ing village we w ere now 7 directing our steps. It is 
somewhere on this retired side of Mount Olivet, out 
of view of the busy City, that I should be in- 
clined to place the scene of the Ascension ; for it is 
said (Luke xxiv. 50, 51) that our Lord led His 
Disciples out as far as to Bethany, and then was 
parted from them, and carried up into heaven. The 
previous conversation, as related in the beginning 
of the Acts of the Apostles (ch. i. 6 — 9) would, 
probably, occupy some time while walking toward 
Bethany ; for we must not judge of the length of 
our Lord's Discourses by the brevity with which the 
Evangelists record them. Here, the last sparks of 



* Jo«ephus : B. vi. ch. 9. 



JERUSALEM. 257 

earthly ambition were extinguished in the bosoms 
of the Apostles ; and they were prepared to expect 
that purer fire, which was ere long to burst forth 
upon the Day of Pentecost. Here, their Head was 
taken from them ; and two of the ministering spirits 
of his train, becoming visible to their eyes, inter- 
rupted their mute astonishment, and dismissed them 
to their proper stations*. Returning from this place 
to Jerusalem, the Disciples would announce to 
Mary the Mother of Jesus and his Brethren, and 
all the Disciples — " Though we have known Christ 
after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we hint no 
more! It is to the promise of His Spirit that we 
must now look : that Spirit will be given not many 
days hence, and will abide with us for ever!" 

In these reflections, and on this sequestered spot, 
I feel a more pure delight, than I could possibly at- 
tain in the tumultuous throng of worshippers, who 
crowd the Church of the Sepulchre. Here, silence, 
and retirement, and the dreary grandeur of the 
mountains before me, and the mild glory of the 
heavens above, all conspire to soften and elevate 
the affections. When I remember, in future days, 
my visit to this unadorned solitude, I would endea- 
vour to associate with it the spirit of those words — 
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things 
which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right- 
hand of God. Set your affections on things above, 
not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your 
life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who 

* Mount Olivet is a term which applies to an extensive region 
of eminences all round, and not to any one point only; on the same 
principle as that noticed under the head of Nazareth. (See p. 167.) 
The specified distance, therefore — a Sabbath-day s journey — is ap « 
plicable to many spots of this place. 

S 



*2ol$ JOURNAL. 

is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with 
him in glory. (Col. iii. 1 — 4.) Here, therefore, 
memory shall exhibit to my mind the Scene of the 
Ascension*! 

BETHANY. 

After a short half-hour's ride from the summit of 
the Mount of Olives, we arrived at the little village 
which bears the name Bethany, now a miserable 
cluster of mud-hovels. We were, first, shewn the 
Grave of Lazarus. We had to descend many 
steps to see it, as it is now considerably beneath the 
ground : it does not correspond with the idea formed 
in the mind from reading John xi. 38. On going 
round the village, one ruined house was pointed out, 
as the site of the house of Mary and Martha. 

We thought to take our repast here ; but, as the 
wind was blowing keenly and threatened rain, we 
went into the adjacent field, and spread our carpet 
under one of the most beautiful and luxuriant olive- 
trees that I ever beheld. The field was full of such 
trees. I had never, from what I have seen of in- 
numerable olive-groves in various countries, con- 
ceived it possible for this tree to attain such richness 

* The remarks of Bishop Hall, in his Contemplations on the 
Resurrection, may very properly be introduced in this place. 
" There may be a kind of carnality in spiritual actions. If, O Sa- 
viour, we have heretofore known thee after the flesh, henceforth 
know we thee so no more. That thou livedst here, in this shape, that 
colour, this stature, that habit, I should be glad to know : nothing 
that concerns thee can be unuseful. Could I say, ' Here thou 
satest ; here thou layest; here, and thus, thou wert crucified; here, 
buried ; here, settest thy last foot ;' I should, with much content- 
ment, see and recount these memorials of thy presence : but, if I 
shall so fasten my thoughts upon these, as not to look higher to the 
spiritual part of thine atchievements, to the power and issue of thy 
Resurrection, I am never the better." {Bislwp HalVs Works, 
Vol. U. p. 511.) 



JERUSALEM. 259 

and beauty. The soil all round must be peculiarly 
adapted to their growth ; and their flourishing- 
aspect bespeaks also the hand of careful culture/ 
We were surrounded, during our repast, by the 
Sheik, and other men with the children of the vil- 
lage, who kept a respectful silence while we ate, 
and afterward thankfully received what we spared 
for them. Our party was now suddenly broken up 
by a heavy fall of rain. 

We set off to return to Jerusalem, by the nearest 
path ; that, probably, described by St. Luke in the 
Gospel, chapter xix. verses 28—44. The scene 
seems, in fact, to verify itself : as you wind round 
the side of the Mountain, and come almost sud- 
denly in view of the City, it needs no guide to say, 
" This must have been the spot, where, as our Sa- 
viour came near to Jerusalem, he beheld the City, 
and wept over it!" 

We were soon thoroughly wetted by the rain ; but, 
as it began afterward to intermit a little, we were 
induced to pursue our original intention of going 
completely through the valley surrounding the City. 

VINEYARDS AND FLOCKS NEAR JERUSALEM. 

I only further noticed of the view eastward^ that, 
though the rocky country toward the Dead Sea, 
both northward and southward of the Valley of Je- 
hoshaphat, must evidently have been at all times 
very unproductive of corn, yet it possesses the two 
qualities essential to the accomplishment of Jacob's 
benediction to Judah. I was led to this remark by 
passing through some well-cultivated vineyards, the 
produce of which furnishes Jerusalem with excellent 
wines. Along the sides of these hills, also, we con- 

s 2 



260 JOURNAL. 

tinually see flocks and herds : the sheep and goats 
in the immediate vicinity of the City have a very 
picturesque appearance, as they are slowly driven 
into Jerusalem just before sun-set, after which the 
gates are shut ; and from their milk a great part of 
the support of the inhabitants is derived. Thus, 
when this seemingly unpromising soil was cultivated 
in perfection, it would answer exactly to the pro- 
mise given to the tribe of Judah — Binding his foal 
unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; 
he washed his garments in nine, and his clothes in 
the blood of g< apes: his eyes shall be red with wine, 
and his teeth white with milk*. Gen. xlix. 11, 12. 

Descending into the Vale of Cedron, and cross- 
ing the Brook, at this time dry, we made our course 
again south-east, that we might pass by the east and 
south side of the City, and enter at the Western or 
Jaffa Gate, from which we had originally set out. 
We passed by the Jewish Burying-ground, south- 
east of the City. 

POOL OF S1L0AM. 

A little further we came to the Pool of Siloam, 
whose waters go softly : they have a current ; but it 
is almost imperceptible. I alighted to descend 

* Jebus, afterward called Jerusalem, properly belonged to the 
Tribe of Benjamin; and the lot of Judah began on the south side 
of the Valley of Hiimom. (Joshua xv. 8. & xviii. 16, 28.) But as 
this character of the soil applies equally to the country south of 
Jerusalem, and consequently illustrates exactly the blessing pro- 
nounced on Judah, the Author does not withhold it, although it 
was originally suggested by scenery strictly belonging to the Tribe of 
Benjamin. 

After the taking of the strong-hold of Zion by David, who was 
of the Tribe of Judah, and the removal of the Ark to Jerusalem, 
this City seems to have become, in some sense, the property of that 
Tribe; although the right of Benjamin seems never to have been 
wholly lost sight of. (See 1 Chron. ix. 3. Nehem. xi. 1 — 4.) 



JERUSALEM. 2()l 

more than twenty steps, and taste the waters of this 
fountain, at which, in ancient times, the Jews were 
wont to celebrate a festival, singing the Twelfth 
Chapter of Isaiah. May they, once again, sing 
aloud in this spot— O Lord, though thou wast angry 
with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou com- 
1 for test me. Therefore^with joy shall ye draw water 
out of the wells of Salvation*. 

On the other side of the projecting hill, after pass- 
ing under ground two or three hundred feet or 
thereabouts, (for I do not pretend to speak with 
exactness,) these waters re-appear : and here they 
are drawn off to irrigate a lovely spot, consisting of 
gardens and small fields, reaching from this point 
of the acclivity down to the dell beneath ; where 
the Brook Cedron, from the north, and the Valley 
of Hinnom, from the south, unite in one ; forming 
from thence the Valley of Jehoshaphat. These gar- 
dens are, in summer, often frequented by the Turks, 
whom cool streams and the sight of verdure invite 
hither to repose themselves ; not without the sooth- 
ing fumes of the pipe. The situation of this spot 
appears to be that alluded to in Nehemiah iii. 15, 
and in 2 Kings xxv. 4, 5. 

Just over against the Pool of Siloam, near the 
bottom of the valley, and on the slope of a lofty 
mountain on the opposite side, is a village which 
they call Siloa : it has a miserable aspect ; many 

* Bishop Lowth (Notes on Isaiah, chap, xii.) relates this custom. 
" On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews fetched 
water, in a golden pitcher, from the Fountain of Siloah, springing 
at the foot of Mount Sion, without the city : they brought it through 
the Water-Gate into the Temple; and poured it, mixed with wine, 

on the sacrifice as it lay on the Altar, with great rejoicing Our 

Saviour applied the ceremony, and the intention of it, to Himself ; 
and to the effusion of the Holy Spirit, promised, and to be given, 
by Him." 



262 JERUSALEM. 

of the habitations being no better than excavations 
from the rock, and the rest very meanly-built houses. 
I counted, including- both kinds, about fifty : the 
population inhabiting them could not exceed two 
hundred. 

VALLEY OF HIXNOM. 

Continuing our route on the southern side of the 
City, we next entered the Valley of Hinnom ; a 
deep ravine, closed in on the right by the steep ac- 
clivity of Mount Zion, and on the left by a line of 
cliffs more or less elevated. From some point in 
these cliffs, Tradition relates that the Apostate Be- 
trayer of our Lord sought his desperate end: and 
the position of the trees, which, in various parts, 
overhang the brow of the cliff, accords with the 
common opinion of the manner of his death. In 
some parts of this ravine, the City is not visible : 
the reason is, that there is a considerable portion of 
Mount Zion toward the south-east, which is at pre- 
sent not inclosed within the Walls of the City. This 
outer part is occupied, by the Bury ing- place of the 
Christians, by an Armenian Convent as above- 
mentioned without the walls, and by a very small 
Turkish Village : the rest of this portion of Mount 
Zion is arable land, laid out in fields ; most re- 
markably exhibiting, at the present day, the fulfil- 
ment of the prophecy uttered first by Micah (Ch. iii. 
12) ; and afterward quoted by Jeremiah (Ch. xxvi. 
1 8) , Zion shall be ploughed as a field. 

We returned, by the Jaffa Gate, about three 
o'clock in the afternoon, to our Convent. The view 
of the City on approaching it from the west, from 
Jaffa, is exceedingly poor. On corning within sight 
of it, nothing appears to the eye but a fore-ground, 
running nearly level up to the walls ; and these walls 



JERUSALEM. 263 

are not distinguished by any appearance of bold- 
ness or elegance, but only serve to hide the City 
from the view. The country all around, at this 
part, is rocky and rugged. 

This excursion being in several respects perfectly 
new, was to me most refreshing and delightful ; and 
amply compensated for the inconvenience which 
we had suffered during the latter part of it, from 
frequent and heavy showers of rain. 

BURIAL-GROUNDS. 

I have not mentioned the different Burial- Grounds 
which we have observed : they are all separate, and 
are as follows. The Christians bury their dead on 
Mount Zion : the Turks have a Burying-Ground 
between the Damascus Gate, and the Gate going 
out near the Mosque of Omar ; another also about 
a quarter of a mile from the Jaffa Gate, on the way- 
side going to the Monastery of the Holy Cross : the 
Jews have their Burying-Ground on the north side 
of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, over against where 
the Temple anciently stood. It is the idea of many, 
that the scene of the Day of Judgment will here 
take place, according to a well-known interpre- 
tation of Joel hi. 11 — 17; and these children of 
Abraham seem to have chosen this spot for the re- 
pose of their mortal remains, to be ready to rise at 
the voice of the Judge, and receive the favour pro- 
mised to their people. The scenery on this side of 
Jerusalem is peculiarly bold, and well suited to in- 
spire feelings of sublimity and awe. 

DISTURBANCES AT BETHLEHEM. 

Saturday, Dec. 13, 1823 — The day being very 
stormy, we were obliged to keep at home ; which I 



2() I JOL'HXAL. 

much regretted, as it abridged my opportunity of 
seeing the Jewish Synagogues, as we had appointed 
to do to-day. I had intended moreover, at all 
events, going to Bethlehem to-day, if the weather 
should permit : but, in this also, I was disappointed. 
The reason of this delay in visiting the place of the 
Nativity, was, that for several days there has been 
a bad understanding between the Government of 
Jerusalem and the Men of Bethlehem These men 
are remarkable for their high and independent spi- 
rit ; and have manifested a resolution not to stoop 
to the oppressive measures of the new Governor. 
The Turkish Soldiers quartered upon them having 
probably behaved with insolence, the Bethlehemites 
expelled them ; and these have been, we hear, sent 
back with no honour to Damascus : a reinforce- 
ment has arrived, and was yesterday sent to Beth- 
lehem. In case of my going, I should have throw n 
aside my Oriental dress, and have dressed as an 
Englishman; which would have, at once, declared me 
neutral in the existing quarrels of the country. I still 
cherish the thought of going thither on Monday*. 

* One of the consequences of the present war between the Go- 
vernor of Jerusalem and the Men of Bethlehem is, that these Men 
cannot come to the City to vend their trinkets. There is, at Beth- 
lehem, a considerable manufacture of articles in mother-of-pearl, 
scollop-shells, &c. on which they engrave, in a rude style, pictures 
of Scripture History, especially the Crucifixion, and figures of the 
Virgin Mary and the Saints. Beads, Crosses, &c. are, or rather 
formerly have been, a great source of trade to these unpolished ar- 
tisans : these articles, after having been duly blest by the Bishops, 
and attested as coming from the Holy City, were exported to Eu- 
rope, where they brought, from superstitious devotees, no small gain 
unto the craftsmen. One or two poor women have, however, 
ventured by stealth, with these articles, into the City ; from whom 
I purchased a few trifles, in consideration of their present poverty. 
One article which they exhibited was a model in wood, inlaid with 
ivory, of the Chapel built over the Holy Sepulchre. Of the va- 
rious 



JERUSALEM. 265 

In the afternoon, we had a call from Ysa Petros. 
We arranged to have Service, the next day, in Ita- 
lian ; that he might unite with us, before my de- 
parture, in religious worship. 

In the evening, the Reverend Mr. Lewis arrived, 
by way of Ramla. He has spent many days at Da- 
mascus, Safet, and Tiberias ; and gives an interesting 
account of the distribution of the Scriptures among 
Jews and Christians in the various places on his tour. 

ASPECT OF THE SABBATH IN JERUSALEM. 

Sunday, Dec. 14, 1823 — In the morning, Mr. Fisk, 
Mr. Lewis, Pappas Ysa Petros, and myself, united 

rious trinkets which they shewed, no one served better than this to 
illustrate the expression translated in our English Version, Silver 
Shrines for Diana : (Acts xix. 24.) The original is vxovs «gy«£otV 
and means, Silver Models of the Temple of Diana. Whether made 
very small, or entirely wrought in silver — or, if larger, inlaid or 
washed with silver — it is of little moment. In all the Levant, and in 
Roman-Catholic Countries, the Pagan traffic, so inimitably" de- 
scribed by the Prophet Isaiah (See Chapters xl. 19, 20. xli. 6, 7. 
xliv. 12 — 17. xlvi. 6) continues in full activity : nor will they be 
persuaded that this is idolatrous, because the Seventh General 
Council has declared it to be lawful, and anathematized all those who 
think the contrary. 

Very shortly after the Author left Jerusalem, the matter at issue 
between the Governor of Jerusalem and the Men of Bethlehem came 
to a trial. The Governor having interested in his service as many 
of the neighbouring Arab Sheiks as he could, went out with his 
forces, and was met in battle by the Bethlehemites. The Men of 
Bethlehem obtained some advantages, which led to a temporary ac- 
commodation : they were to pay a sum of money to the Governor ; 
and he, on the other hand, was not to quarter soldiers on the town,, 
which had been the principal point at issue. The Bethlehemites, 
however, fearing a surprise, still continued under arms ; and the 
Governor threatened them, that the Pacha himself of Damascus 
should come with all his forces, and compel them to admit a Turkish 
Garrison : but the words of the men of Bethlehem were fiercer than 
his. A wanton piece of barbarity preceded the battle. A few days 
before, the Governor's party found a poor old man of Bethlehem 
labouring in the fields, and shot him ; and fixed his head over the 
Gate of Jerusalem, as if to whet their appetite for carnage. 



266 JOURNAL. 

in Divine Service, in Italian. This is my last of 
four Sabbaths spent in the Holy City. 

There is something very peculiar in the aspect of 
this day in these parts. We have never as yet had, 
indeed, occasion to say, that the Adversaries mock at 
our Sabbaths : but the sensation arising from seeing, 
that to the Mahomedans and Jews this is a day of 
work, and that to the bulk of professing Christians 
it is, alas ! a day of more than usual mirth, visiting, 
and feasting, abates much of that spirit of sacred 
sympathy which David so touchingly describes — / 
u-ent up with the multitude of them that keep holy- 
day. I teas glad when they said, Let us go into the 
house of the Lord ! On this very spot, did David 
once delight in these Sabbatic hours ! But what 
would he think, were his spirit to descend from its 
eternal rest, to see his strong-hold of Zion disman- 
tled ; and his brethren, for whose peace he prayed, 
broken in pieces by the oppressor ? Were Solomon 
again to walk this earth, and view his unrivalled 
Temple supplanted by the Mosque of Omar ; or 
could Isaiah know that his evangelic raptures are 
still unrevealed to multitudes on this Holy Hill of 
Zion, and that the watchmen who should have kept 
their stand day and night upon the walls of Jerusa- 
lem hav e long since held their peace and sunk into 
almost Pagan stupor ; or could the first Apostles 
look round, and ask in this place, Who are they that 
have kept the faith ? — what would be the emotions 
of their re-embodied spirits ! We, so greatly their 
inferiors — not so devout, nor fervent, nor conversant 
with Divine mysteries as they — yet feel amazed and 
utterly down-cast, when we contemplate so many 
visible marks of departed glory. 



JERUSALEM. 267 

If, however, the work now beginning here, be (as 
we would humbly trust it is) right in principle, and 
the workmen right in heart, we must not despise the 
day of small things. Two Ministers of the Church 
of England, one to the Jews and another to the 
Gentiles, and a Minister from the distant shores of 
the New World, uniting in prayer with a Native 
Minister of the Gospel in Jerusalem, form but a 
small assembly ; but it is such a congregation as I 
once never thought to see. May our prayers for an 
increase of Labourers be accepted and answered, 
by the Lord of the Sabbath, exceeding abundantly 
above all that we ask or think ! 

Our Worship, besides the devotional part, con- 
sisted in my discoursing on the closing verses of the 
Fifth Chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corin- 
thians: after which Mr. Fisk took up the Service ; 
and, with much feeling, discoursed from the Ninth 
Chapter of Daniel ; applying it, in a very striking 
manner, to the present circumstances of the suffer- 
ing Oriental Churches. 

In the evening, my American Brother and myself 
spent an hour, as we had been used to do on the 
close of our Sabbaths, in mutually making such 
friendly remarks as might be personally useful to 
us in our common work. As this was our last con- 
ference, I am induced to put on record the topic 
concerning which we then conversed and prayed — 
" How best to secure the advantages, and avoid the 
evils, which may result from our studying the cha- 
racters and consequently perceiving the faults of 
Christian Brethren ?" 



268 



JOURNAL. 



DEPARTURE FROM JERUSALEM. 

Monday, Dec. 15, 1823 — Yesterday, beyond all 
expectation, after two days of stormy weather appa- 
rently likely to last, the sky cleared up, and I had 
resolved, should this day prove equally fair, to take 
my departure. Accordingly, with one of the bright- 
est mornings that ever greeted a Pilgrim's eye, I 
gave the word to move. At an early hour, Pappas 
Ysa and the Abyssinian Priest were with me to 
take leave, and staid some time. The Greek Dea- 
con, Caesarius, called also in haste, to say farewell: 
he is, himself, under orders this day to go with a 
party of the Monks to the Convent of Mar Saba, 
there probably to spend the Christmas Festival. 
Various delays arose: in fact, in this country a good 
departure is always worth half-a-day's journey. 
I had only, besides my own and my servants' horse, 
a mule's load of baggage, a guide on horseback, 
and a muleteer on an ass : yet, with this simple 
equipage, after having actually taken leave of my 
Brethren and passed two or three streets, I dis- 
covered serious imposition which the guide wished 
to pass upon me, and was obliged to return and have, 
as usual, a conflict with that perverse thing — Arab 
Temper. On these occasions, I have observed that 
it is only necessary to be in the right, and to shew 
yourself decided and calm ; upon which, after a few 
malignant evolutions, the evil spirit becomes sub- 
missive, and even tractable. Thus it was with my 
guide, on the present occasion : finding himself de- 
tected, he hastened to repair his error ; and, with 
redoubled vehemence, laid both hands upon his 
green turban to assure me, with their usual oath, 



JERUSALEM. 269 

" Upon my head," that he would serve me faithfully. 
(See Matthew v. 36.) This is the commonest oath 
of the Country, ^J, ^Js. " On my head * " 

At length all parties being brought round to good 
humour, and Mahommed the guide the more so for 
having been completely conquered, we made a 
second more successful departure. 

REFLECTIONS ON LEAVING JERUSALEM. 

At half-past-eleven o'clock, we passed the Da- 
mascus Gate of the City ; and, in half-an-hour, 
reached the top of the hill, from which I had caught 
the first view of Jerusalem on my arrival, and from 
which I was now to see it for the last time. 

While the servants went on, I rode to a fair green 
spot, and turned my horse's head round, that I 
might enjoy a few moments' solitary meditation on 
the view before me. Surely no traveller would 
fail to snatch such a moment ! With little bodily 
strength, and through a variety of scenes in which 
troubles had been anticipated, though none had been 

* Another most common oath with the Arahs is W Allah ; an 
appeal to the Sacred Name. Occasionally they strengthen this by 
Wen-Nabi, " By the Prophet." The remark, an oath for confir- 
mation is an end of all strife, is often curiously exemplified by the 
Arabs, in their most common transactions. After wrangling a long 
while, with a vehemence and a pertinacity, which seem to shut out 
all hope of conciliation, they will (if suffered by the Traveller to 
take their own time) suddenly come to terms : their Chief, who has 
watched the furious debate, and in good part fomented it, marks 
the auspicious moment, clenches the question, gives the signal 
TV Allah, and at once all is settled ; every man proceeds to his post, 
whether it be loading or unloading animals, or setting off on a jour- 
ney &c. The man, who has a minute before defied and insulted 
the Traveller to his face, will then come smiling and fawning about 
him, with an officiousness still more disgusting than his previous 
rudeness. It is best, on these occasions, not to contend ; neither to 
rage, nor laugh, with them. (See Proverbs xxix. 9.) 



270 JOURNAL. 

experienced, I have thus succeeded in accomplish- 
ing the Pilgrimage to the Holy City. " What good,'' 
I thought, " has my visit done here? Who will be 
the better for it ? Here — where the Saviour bled — 
how have I requited His love ?" These thoughts ra- 
pidly passed through my mind, raising such pensive 
feelings as I am no stranger to. " 1 feel that I have 
done almost nothing : and even if, humanly speak- 
ing, I had done much, yet I must before my Master 
acknowledge that I am an unprofitable servant. 
But it is now too late to amend this visit ; for the 
time is past, and I must bid farewell to Jerusalem. 
The noon- day sun shines strong and bright upon the 
City, and seems to mock its base condition. What 
a contrast between its aspect at this distance, and its 
actual state! Here, the smaller objects not being 
minutely discernible, the glowing strains of David 
seem as true and lively as they were when they first 
answered to the touch of his instrument of ten 
strings — Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole 
earth is Mount Zion. Still, there seem to be her 
towers, her bulwarks, and her palaces challenging 
our admiration. But I have now, for more than 
twenty days, known that these are not the Towers 
or the Temple of ancient times. At every step, 
coining forth out of the City, the heart is reminded 
of that prophecy, accomplished to the letter, Jeru- 
salem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles*. All the 
streets are wretchedness ; and the houses of the Jews 

* The Author would here add, that he has, subsequently, very 
often meditated on that phrase : and he can with truth affirm, that 
no expression could have been invented more descriptive of the 
visible state of Jerusalem, than this single phrase, trodden down — 
furnished by the most lively and descriptive of all writings extant, 
the Bible. 



A IN YABROUD. 271 

more especially (the people who once held a scep- 
tre on this mountain of holiness) are as dunghills." 

While I gazed, my eyes filled with tears till I 
could look no longer. The frequent ejaculation of 
the Bishop of Nazareth came into my mind — " Lord, 
how long!" I thought, too, of those Brethren, from 
whom I had just parted, and for whose sakes I had 
an additional motive to pray, Peace be within thy 
walls! I then suddenly broke off from this multi- 
tude of thoughts, which w as growing too painful for 
me; and, pursuing my journey, I felt by degrees as 
though my present Mission was, in some sense, ac- 
complished ; and began to indulge, more warmly, 
the hope of returning to my family in peace. 

AIN YABROUD. 

In the evening, at sun-set, we turned off from the 
road a little to the left, to sleep at Ain Yabroud ; 
a poor village of about fifty houses, all Mahome- 
dans. Our guide, Mahommed, immediately rode 
up to what he called the principal house : and such, 
indeed, it seemed to be ; the centre part being built 
high, so as at a distance to give it the appearance of 
a tower : at the same time he sent some of the Vil- 
lagers to inquire for Sheik Ibrahim, the head of the 
place. I found it difficult, however, to conceive 
myself entering the chief house of the village. I had, 
on dismounting, to pass through a wretched court- 
yard ; and, at the door, found the point of prece- 
dence disputed with me by asses, oxen, sheep, and 
goats, a very large company. As I paused for a 
moment to look into a residence which appeared 
within to be scarcely habitable, these irrational te- 
nants, not at all standing upon ceremony, but know- 



272 JOURNAL. 

ing well their prescriptive title, herded downward 
into a sort of lower chamber; while my guide, 
behind me, pointed to four steps, which, if I would 
have the goodness to mount them, would raise me 
so many degrees above the brute creation. I very 
reluctantly complied ; and, at once, found myself 
on a large mud-floor ; which, with a small recess on 
one side for the females of the family, presented at 
one view the whole interior of the best house in the 
village. The nether inhabitants of this dwelling 
were now lifting up such an inharmonious chorus, 
as gave presage of a very uncomfortable night. 
"What are we to do?" I said to my servant: 
" and when will this uproar cease?" "When the 
cattle have had their fodder," he replied ; which, 
happily, proved true : for, in less than ten minutes, 
all this disturbance yielded to a profound sleep, 
which knew no interruption till the next morning- 
light. The party below having thus supped and 
quieted themselves, the Sheik and the men of the 
village began to assemble on the upper floor, where 
1 had seated myself, near a large blazing fire; which, 
but for the immense amount of animal heat already 
accumulated in the house, would have been very 
seasonable. The Sheik, by way of compliment and 
protection, sat by me, leaning on my baggage and 
bedding; an omen of unwelcome companions likely 
to be added to my party. A large assembly gra- 
dually collected in the room, not fewer than fifteen 
venerable, bearded men, all with huge dirks at their 
sides — which, as they sat down, they drew out and 
laid before them on the floor ; but whether as a 
compliment, or merely for their own convenience, 
1 could not divine. To prevent their troublesome 



A IN YA EROUD. 278 

curiosity in asking after my purposes, I made many 
inquiries into their affairs ; and learned that this 
house is indeed the Castle of the Village, and has 
served that end many times in their quarrels with 
their neighbours. They described to me who were 
their friends, and who their enemies. As far as 
JBeer, a town which I had passed, about an hour- 
and-a half to the south of Ain Yabroud, they have 
friends: but, on the other side of Beer, to Jerusalem, 
and in all that region, enemies ; their head Sheik, 
Ishmael, being at war with the celebrated Abu 
Goosh, who lives between Jerusalem and Ramla. 
In consequence, they cannot go to Jerusalem : and 
having lately sold oil, the produce of their land, to 
persons living there, they cannot themselves carry 
it; but the purchasers are obliged to come from 
Jerusalem, to fetch it. On the other side, to the 
north, they are at war with Sangyl. Thus they are 
beset on all quarters. I began to point out the un- 
natural troubles of war ; reminding them that they 
were all of one blood, and that they themselves felt 
the inconveniences of this bad system : from all 
which the chief Sheik, Ibrahim, drew back with 
evident marks of distaste. I could not help think- 
ing, how much more readily do most men welcome 
a fomenter of quarrels, than a peace-maker ! Had 
I brought them some evil news of their neighbours . 
something to rouse their bad passions, they would 
have been better pleased than they were with these 
abstract reasonings. The Sheik, unable to with- 
stand my remarks, retorted the argumentum ad 
hominem ; asking whether the case was not the same 
exactly with the Christians at Jerusalem, and (he 
supposed) in other countries also. I said, " But 

T 



274 JOURNAL. 

such are not true Christians : for our Religion com- 
mands us to love one another ; and they who violate 
this rule, cease to be Christians." My servant, per- 
ceiving the Sheik and his wide circle considerably 
dissatisfied with the turn of the conversation, would 
interpret for me no further. If my remarks should 
have left no good impression on the minds of these 
Arab Feasants, may they convey a lesson to those 
who read these lines ! By our fruits will men judge 
of our faith. Thus, in fact, have professing Chris- 
tians been judged in Palestine ; and thus will Pro- 
testant Missionaries bejudged who shall go thither. 
Having signified my desire of rest, the party broke 
up; but about ten remained, with whom I had to 
sleep upon the floor • so we all lay, stretched out, 
foot to foot, or head to head. 

RETURN TO NAB LOUS. 

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 1823— Left Ain Yabroud at 
eight o'clock in the morning, and passed Sangyl in 
two hours-and-a-half ; arriving at Khan Leban in 
one hour more : here I rested a while. 

An hour after, on the road to Nablous, we 
met with the first insult, and indeed the only one, 
experienced by me in all this journey. A man ran 
after us, some distance, with a long staff in his hand, 
announcing another who soon followed, carrying a 
gun : he was the Sheik of the district. We halted, 
to know his pleasure. His pleasure was, first, to 
know who and what we were, who presumed to 
pass without paying tribute : to which the answer 
was short — that I was an Englishman, and the 
bearer of two Letters from the Governor of Jeru- 
salem to the Governor of Nablous. He said, he 



RETURN TO N ABLOUS* 275 

acknowledged no Governor; that his village had 
always been free and independent; that a man of 
Jerusalem had come to buy oxen of him, to the value 
of two hundred piastres, and by night had driven 
away the oxen without payment ; that he should, 
therefore, take Mahommed into custody till the 
money was sent him from Jerusalem, unless I was 
willing to pay down the 200 piastres. As we were 
only three hours from Nablous, we agreed that 
Mahommed should be detained, and I go on to the 
Governor with my Letters. Upon this our assailant 
dropped his high pretensions, and finally suffered 
us to go, without gaining a single para, and with no 
other inconvenience to us than the delay. 

A little further on, my servant directed my atten- 
tion to a common circumstance, which aptly enough 
illustrates a verse of Scripture. It was a family 
returning from their work in the field, bringing home 
wood for fuel. Several of them were young girls ; 
the youngest a child not above four years of age, 
which the others were continually scolding for not 
keeping up with them, although it was manifestly 
struggling under a very disproportionate share of 
the family burden. This might explain the latter 
clause of Lamentations v. 13 — They took the young 
men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. 

Arriving fatigued in the evening at Nablous, I 
only sent my Letters, without waiting on the Go- 
vernor : he immediately sent his Secretary, who, it 
appeared, was the son of the Chief of the Samaritans. 
The father, now in years, formerly filled the office. 
I was lodging, as before, at the house of the Greek 
Priest. He insisted on serving up coffee, to which 
the Samaritan, with some reluctance, assented. 1 

t 2 



270 JOURWAL. 

was not at all pleased with the ill compliment paid 
to him, and, through him, to the Government of 
Nablous, by the Greek Priest, who sipped the coflee 
before he presented it to him ; a ceremony which I 
hav e never before witnessed in any house that I have 
yet visited in the East ; but which, if report speaks 
true of foul deeds lately done in this city, was not 
a superfluous or unmeaning act. 

Close adjoining to the house of the Priest, and in 
a manner part of it, was the Church. It was the 
eve of Saint Saba, and the Christian people were 
assembling to Divine Service. I counted thirty-six 
men present, a large proportion of the male Chris- 
tian population of this Modern Sychem : but in the 
narrow anti-room, where females stand, there was 
but one woman — a perfect contrast to the occasional 
religious services of our own country ! but easily to 
be accounted for. Here, Public Devotion, being 
in an unknown language, assumes more the ap- 
pearance of a mere task; and, consequently, men 
are expected to attend it as if transacting some work 
of business, while their wives are enduring heavy 
drudgery at home. In England, our Week-day 
Services, better adapted to touch the heart, are at- 
tractive to the more feeling sex ; while the men 
excuse their non-attendance, on the plea of ever- 
urgent occupation. 

FROM NABLOUS TO BEI ROUT. 

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 1823 — On leaving Nablous, 
we found that heavy rain had fallen in the night, 
and more was likely to fall ; I had, therefore, good 
reason to press on without any delay to Beirout. I 
returned by the same stages as those by which we 



FROM NABLOUS TO BEIROUT. 277 

came — nothing remarkable occurring on the way ; 
unless I were to notice that the Latin Convent at 
Nazareth had been, in this interval, much deserted, 
there being only six Friars left in it; the others 
were gone either to Bethlehem or Acre. 

Between Acre and Tyre, I met a very respectable 
elderly person in black Frank-clothes, who informed 
me that he was an Irish Roman-Catholic Priest, and 
had vowed, or, as he expressed it, had made a pro- 
mise to God, that he would go all the way on foot 
to Jerusalem ; and, having thus far kept his promise, 
voyages of course excepted, he will probably hold 
on, till his feet stand within the gates of the Holy 
City. I was in such urgent haste to escape the rain, 
and reach my destination before night- fall, that I 
could not stop to converse with him as I wished *. 
As it was, I was under the necessity of halting short 
of Tyre, and sleeping in a most miserable hut, not 
water-proof — the rain dropping through on my bed 



* The account which we afterward heard of the progress of this 
Pilgrim was as follows : — Having arrived at Nazareth, he heard that 
there were so many difficulties likely to be met with, if he proceeded 
on foot to Jerusalem, that he determined to return to Acre, and 
thence take a passage in a boat to Jaffa. In the mean time, a ru- 
mour of the plague at Tiberias induced the Pacha of Acre to esta- 
blish a quarantine in that city. The Irish Priest, while he remained 
in Nazareth, attended with the greatest humanity to a dying Italian, 
from whom every body else fled, supposing him to he infected with 
the plague. Unacquainted with the horror which that apprehension 
inspires in persons accustomed to the Levant, he seemed astonished 
at the selfishness of their fears, and himself alone supported the 
languishing patient many hours in his arms. The case was, how- 
ever, of a consumptive nature : the life of his attendant would 
otherwise, in all probability, have been forfeited. He, after this, re- 
turned to Acre ; but, quarantine having been established, was not 
permitted to enter ; and himself suffered much from the inclemency 
of the season. He finally reached the Holy City in safety — " his 
vow completed." 



278 JOULtXAL. 

— at Ras el Ain. All the rest of the way to Beirout, 
I was occasionally incommoded by stormy weather ; 
but happily nothing like illness detained me before 
my arrival in that city, which took place late on 
Monday night, the 22d December. 

Here, to my great joy, I found Mr. and Mrs. 
Bird, Mr. and Mrs. Goodell, and Mr. King, occu- 
pying a house, and giving a new r Missionary attrac- 
tion to the place. I have reason to record, w ith 
especial gratitude, the many acts of Christian Kind- 
ness which I experienced under the hospitable roof 
of our American Friends. These offices of love 
were, indeed, most seasonable ; as my stay in Bei- 
rout, which it was supposed would not exceed a 
week or two, was unexpectedly protracted to fifty 
days, during which anxious period the effect of my 
journeying developed itself in a painful illness which 
fell upon me, but which providentially spent its 
force before my departure. 

An opportunity for Alexandria, at length, offered 
on the 9th of February, 1824 ; when I quitted Syria 
w ith such emotions of thankfulness, as might well 
arise in the breast of one who, after performing in 
past years several almost solitary journeys, had spent 
nearly all the last five months in the society of Mis- 
sionary Brethren and Sisters. With these, already 
become eight in number, I had often experienced 
the blessing spoken of in those expressive words — 
We have fellowship one with another ; and, Truly 
our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son 
Jesus Christ. 



279 



ITINERARY OF THE AUTHOR. 

Hours. 



Beirout to Saide . 10i 

Saide to Sour 9 

Sour to Nahoura 5 J 

Nahoura to Acre 6 

Acre to Nazareth .... ; .... . 9 

Nazareth to Tiberias 5| 

Tiberias to Safet 6'i 

Safet to Hattyn 6 

Hatty n to Cana 24 

Cana to Nazareth li 

Nazareth to Gennyn 6 

Gennyn to Nablous Si 

Nablous to Sangyl 6 

Sangyl to Ain Yabroud , 24 

Ain Yabroud to Jerusalem b'^ 



The time from Acre to Nazareth was increased 
by perhaps two hours, from the guide not being well 
acquainted with the road. 

A traveller, on horseback, and unincumbered 
with baggage, would perform most of these di- 
stances, especially in fine weather, in a shorter 
time. 



280 



VOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 
A. 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE. 

House of the Dead. 
While walking out, one evening, a few fields' distance from 
Deir El Kamr, with Hanna Doomani, the son of my host 
(see p. 86), to see a detached garden belonging to his father, 
he pointed out to me, near it, a small, solid, stone building, 
apparently a house ; very solemnly adding, " Kabbar beity" 
— " the Sepulchre of our family." It had neither door nor 
window. He then directed my attention to a considerable 
number of similar buildings, at a distance : which, to the eye, 
are exactly like houses ; but which are, in fact, family-man- 
sions for the dead. They have a most melancholy appear- 
ance, which made him shudder while he explained their use. 
They seem, by their dead walls, which must be opened at each 
several interment of the members of a family, to say, " This 
is an unkindly house, to which visitors do not willingly throng : 
but, one by one, they will be forced to enter ; and none who 
enter, ever come out again." 

Perhaps this custom, which prevails particularly at Deir el 
Kamr, and in the lonely neighbouring parts of the Mountain, 
may have been of great antiquity ; and may serve to explain 
some Scripture-phrases. The Prophet Samuel was buried in 
his house at Bamah : 1 Sam. xxv. 1 : it could hardly be in his 
dwelling-house. J oab was buried in his own house in the wil- 
derness : 1 Kings ii. 34. This is the house appointed for all 
tiring: Job xxx. 23. 

Carpzovius (Apparatus, p. 643.) remarks, " Vix credendum est 
sepulchra in ipsis adibus sub tecto fuisse... .que/propter rectius intelli" 
gitur id omne quod ad dornum pertinet, eidemque cohceret ; ac proin 
etiam area, vel hortus, in cttjus forte angulo exteriori tale quoddam 
extruxerunt monumentum" The view of these sepulchral houses 
at Deir el Kamr puts the matter beyond conjecture. 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 281 

Possibly, likewise, the passages in Proverbs ii. 18, 19. and 
vii. 27. and ix. 18. describing the house of a wanton woman, 
may have drawn their imagery from this custom. He knoweth 
not that the dead are there. ...her house inclineth unto death, and 
her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again. 

Gen. xviii. 6, 10. and xxvii. 14, 17. — 
When we had finished our meals, in the family in which 
I resided at Deir el Kamr, and were risen, the mother, 
daughter, and daughter-in-law, who had been waiting at the 
door, came in, and partook of what remained. Thus it is in 
Syria : and thus it has been, probably, ever since Abraham, 
a Syrian ready to perish, traversed these regions, dwelling in 
tents : when Sarah, having prepared an entertainment for 
three Divine Strangers, did not present it, that being 
Abraham's office ; but stood at the tent-door, which was 
behind him. So Rebekah prepared food for her husband to 
eat, and sent it in by the hand of Jacob. 

Prov. xi. 21. 

The expression though hand join in hand, may bear a slight 
correction ; conformable both to the original Hebrew, and 
also to the custom actually prevailing in Syria. The original 
T 1 simply signifies, hand in hand. And this is the cus- 
tom of persons in the East, when they greet each other, or 
strike hands', in token of friendship or agreement. They 
touch their right-hands respectively ; and then raise them up 
to their lips and forehead. This is the universal Eastern 
courtesy : the English Version, and the devices grounded 
upon it, give the idea of hand clasped in hand, which is Eu- 
ropean, rather than Oriental. The sense, therefore, is, 
Though hand meet hand — intimating, that heart assents to 
heart in the perpetration of wickedness — yet shall not the 
wicked go unpunished, 

Isaiah xiv. 8. 

As we passed (see p. 96) through the extensive forest of 
fir-trees situated between Deir el Kamr and Ainep, we had 



282 NOTES TO 1 11 E JOl'KNAL. 

already heard, at some distance, the stroke of one solitary 
axe, resounding from hill to hill. On reaching the spot, we 
found a peasant, whose labour had been so far successful, 
that he had felled his tree and lopped the branches. He was 
now hewing it in the middle, so as to balance the two halves 
upon his camel ; which stood patiently by him, waiting for his 
load. In the days of Hiram, King of Tyre, and subsequently 
under the Kings of Babylon, this romantic solitude was not 
so peaceful : that most poetic image in Isaiah, who makes 
these very trees vocal, exulting in the downfall of the de- 
stroyer of nations, seems now to be almost realized anew — 
Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, say- 
ing, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. 

Isaiah lii. 2, 10. 

The use of the Oriental dress, which I now wear, brings to 
the mind various Scriptural Illustrations, of which I will 
only mention two. 

The figure in Isaiah lii. 10, The Lord hath made bare his 
holy arm, is most lively : for the loose sleeve of the Arab 
shirt, as well as that of the outer garment, leaves the arm so 
completely free, that, in an instant, the left-hand passing up 
the right arm makes it bare ; and this is done when a person 
— a soldier, for example, about to strike with the sword — in- 
tends to give his right arm full play. The image represents 
Jehovah as suddenly prepared to inflict some tremendous, 
yet righteous judgment — so effectual, that all the ends of the 
world shall see the Salvation of God. 

The other point illustrated occurs in the second verse of 
the same Chapter : where the sense of the last expressions is, 
to an Oriental, extremely natural — Shake thyself from the dust, 
— arise — sit down, O Jerusalem. It is no uncommon thing to 
see an individual, or a groupe of persons, even when very 
well-dressed, sitting, with their feet drawn under them, upon 
the bare earth, passing whole hours in idle conversation. 
Europeans would require a chair; but the Natives here pre- 
fer the ground. In the heat of summer and autumn, it is 
pleasant to them to while away their time in this manner. 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 283 

under the shade of a tree. Richly-adorned females, as well 
as men, may often be seen thus amusing themselves. As may 
naturally be expected, with whatever care they may, at first 
sitting down, choose their place, yet the flowing dress by 
degrees gathers up the dust : as this occurs, they, from time 
to time, arise, adjust themselves, shake off the dust, and then 
sit down again. The captive daughter of Zion, therefore, 
brought down to the dust of suffering and oppression, is com- 
manded to arise and shake herself from that dust ; and then, 
with grace and dignity, and composure and security, to sit 
down ; to take, as it were, again, her seat and her rank amid 
the company of the nations of the earth, which had before 
afflicted her, and trampled her to the earth. 

It may be proper to notice that Bishop Lowth gives 
another rendering — Arise, ascend thy lofty seat— and quotes 
Eastern Customs, to justify the version : but I see no neces- 
sity for the alteration, although to English ears it may sound 
more appropriate. A person of rank in the East often sits 
down upon the ground, with his attendants about him. 

Matt. vi. 3. and Pro v. vi. 13. 
The manner In which the Samaritan Priest (see p. 201) 
desired me, on parting, to express our mutual good- will, was 
by an action, than which there is not one more common, in 
all the Levant. He put the fore-finger of his right-hand 
parallel to that of his left, and then rapidly rubbed them to- 
gether, while I was expected to do the same, repeating the 

words, ; that is, " right, right ;" or, in common ac- 

ceptation, " together, together." It is in this manner that 
persons express their consent on all occasions ; on conclud- 
ing a bargain, on engaging to bear one another company, and 
on every kind of friendly agreement or good understanding. 

May not this serve to explain the phrase in Matt. vi. 3 : 
Let not thy left-hand know what thy right-hand doeth 9 that is, 
" Let not thy heart consent to its own good thoughts, with a 
sinful self-applause." So much is said, in the Old Testament, 
of speaking with the eyes, hands, and even feet, that it is 
scarcely understood by Englishmen. They should see the 



284 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL, 

expressive and innumerable gesticulations of foreigners when 
they converse : many a question is answered, and many a 
significant remark conveyed, by even children, who learn this 
language much sooner than their mother-tongue. Perhaps 
the expression of Solomon, that the wicked man speaketh with 
his feet, (Prov. vi. 1 3.) may appear more natural, when it is 
considered that the mode of sitting on the ground in the East 
brings the feet into view, nearly in the same direct line as the 
hands ; the whole body crouching down together, and the 
hands, in fact, often resting upon the feet. 

Matt. xxvi. 23. and John xiii. 25—27. 
To witness the daily family-habits, in the house in which I 
lived at Deir el Kamr, forcibly reminded me of Scripture 
Scenes. The absence of the females at our meals has been 
already noticed. There is another custom, by no means 
agreeable to a European; to which, however, that I might 
not seem unfriendly, I would have willingly endeavoured to 
submit, but it was impossible to learn it in the short compass 
of a twenty days' visit. There are set on the table in the even- 
ing, two or three messes of stewed meat, vegetables, and sour 
milk. To me, the privilege of a knife and spoon and plate 
was granted : but the rest all helped themselves immediately 
from the dish ; in which it was no uncommon thing to see more 
than five Arab fingers at one time. Their bread, which is 
extremely thin, tearing and folding up like a sheec of paper, is 
used for the purpose of rolling together a large mouthful, or 
sopping up the fluid and vegetables. But the practice which 
was most revolting to me was this : when the master of the 
house found in the dish any dainty morsel, he took it out with 
his fingers, and applied it to my mouth. This was true Syrian 
courtesy and hospitality; and, had I been sufficiently well- 
bred, my mouth would have opened to receive it. On my 
pointing to my plate, however, he had the goodness to deposit 
the choice morsel there. I would not have noticed so trivial 
a circumstance, if it did not exactly illustrate what the Evan- 
gelists record of the Last Supper. St. Matthew relates that 
the Traitor was described by our Lord in these terms — He, 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 285 
that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray 
me; xxvi. 23. From this it may be inferred that Judas sat 
near to our Lord ; perhaps on one side next to him. St. 
John, who was leaning on Jesus's bosom, describes the fact 
with an additional circumstance. Upon his asking, Lord, who 
is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, 
when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he 
gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop f 
Satan entered into him : xiii. 25 — 2,1. 

B. 

THE TANTOOR, A FEMALE HEAD-DRESS IN SYRIA. 

The most extraordinary Oriental costume which I have yet 
seen, is the head-dress worne by many females at Deir el Kamr, 
and in all the adjacent region of Mount Lebanon. In the cities 
on the sea-coast it is not so frequently seen. It is called Tan- 
toor ; and is set on the forehead, projecting like a straight 
horn. It is from fifteen to twenty inches long; in its thick- 
ness gradually diminishing ; having its diameter at one extre- 
mity about four inches, at the other about two. It is hollow, 
otherwise the weight would be insupportable to the stiffest 
neck ; and it is tinselled over, so as to give it a silvery appear- 
ance. The end with the larger diameter rests on the fore- 
head, where it is strapped to, by one strap passing behind the 
head, and another passing under the chin : the horn itself 
protrudes straight forward, inclining upward, at an angle of 
about twenty or thirty degrees. Over the farther extremity 
they throw the veil, which thus serves the double purpose of 
modesty and shade. 

I could hear no account of the origin of this unicorn cos- 
tume. In its style it differs materially from the horns de- 
scribed by Bruce in Abyssinia, and by other Travellers; 
which have been considered as illustrating those passages in 

Scripture, Lift not up your horn on high Thine horn hast 

thou exalted, &c. For, here, it is the females that wear it; and 
not the men, as in Abyssinia : it has no appearance of strength, 
nor indeed, to me, of beauty ; although, doubtless, among the 
females of Mount Lebanon there may be as much vanity in 



286 NOTES TO THE JOUIINAL. 

their mode of adjusting and bearing this article of dress, as is 
to be found at any European toilet. Some, indeed, though 
very few, wear this monstrous ornament protruding from one 
side of the face, instead of the front : but I could obtain no 
satisfactory account of this heretical fashion, any more than 
of the orthodox position of the Tantoor. 

It is not worne by the Druse Women only. The servant of 
the house where I lived at Deir el Kamr wore one : so also did 
a young woman whose marriage I there witnessed (see pp. 87, 
88) : several, likewise, of the virgins, that were her fellows, 
and bore her company, wore this head-dress. All these were 
Christians. Ilanna Doomani told me that it is used chiefly 
by the lower orders ; at least that those who have been brought 
up at Damascus, or at the principal cities, would not think of 
wearing it. In other words, probably, it is the true, ancient 
female-mountaineer's costume; but what is its degree of an- 
tiquity, it may be difficult to discover. 

In examining various Critics for the Oriental sense of the 
word " horn," the following passages occurred, which may 
serve, in a collateral manner, to illustrate the costume of the 
Tantoor. These passages refer to a drawing, with which 
almost every child is familiar, who has seen the old picture- 
books, representing the person of Moses. By a vulgar error, 
he is often depicted as having a horn projecting from his fore- 
head, or a ray of glory beaming forth in that form. The ori- 
gin of this is referred by the Critics to a too servile rendering, 
in the Vulgate, of the Original Hebrew. Glassius (Philologia 
Sacra, p. 819.) after giving various metaphorical senses of the 
word "horn," adds this signification, in conclusion : " In modum 
common radios diffundere, coruscare, radiare, splendere, significat. 
Exodus xxxiv. 29, 30, 35. ubi de Mosis facie splendescente sermo 
est. Chald. i Multiplicatus erat splendor glorice faciei suce. ' 
LXX. ' ^iho%a<rai : a o-j/i$ tQ %(>vTog rQ 7r(>o>rco7rii uvtS''' ad quam versi- 
onem Paulus 2 Cor. iii. 7 respexit. Vulgata : ' Quod cornuta 
esset fades sua. Ex qua versione Jloses cornutus in picturis qui- 
busdam prodiit." 

The same is noted by Carpzovius, {Apparatus Historico- 
Criticus, pp, 51 1, 5\2,) who refers to this source a similar pic- 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 28f 
ture of a Heathen Deity f " Ceterum inde Jluxit insanus Genti- 
lium error, qui Bacchum sicum, maxime in expeditione Indicd, 
cornutum tradiderunt ; sub cujus nomine 31osen eos coluisse Vossius, 
JIuetius, aliique demonstrartint." 

Ludovicus de Dieu, in his Note on Exodus xxxiv. 35. fur- 
ther remarks, " Sic in historid Saracenicd Elmacini, ut et 
passim alibi, Alexander Magnus cognominatur ^yi) ' habens 
duo cornua ; i. e. duplicem gloriam, ob imperium Orientis et Oc- 
cident Ls." 

The Tantoor of Mount Lebanon is evidently intended for 
splendor, while the horn worne by the Abyssinian Chiefs was 
significant of strength. Whether the version of St. Jerome — 
" Quod cornuta esset fades ejus" — first gave rise to the painting 
of Moses in that manner, and thus led to the adoption of the 
costume ; or whether, on the other hand, the closeness of his 
rendering may indicate that such a costume already existed in 
Syria when he wrote, so that his allusion would, in that era 
and in that country, seem nothing forced or strange, may be 
left to conjecture. I should incline to the latter opinion ; and, 
consequently, imagine that the costume is as ancient, at least, 
as his time. 

c. 

ON TYRE. 

It might, perhaps, be thought that the. Aqueducts and So- 
lomon's Cisterns are an exception to the remark at p. 136, that 
not a vestige of an ancient city appears on the site of the first 
Tyre. These structures seem, however, to be fairly laid out 
of the question by the following criticism of Maundrell, 
(Journey, March 21, 1697) — who, noticing the tradition, that 
these Cisterns were part of the recompence made by Solomon 
to King Hiram for the materials sent toward the building of 
the Temple, shrewdly remarks — " They are, doubtless, very 
ancient ; but yet of a much later date than what this tradition 
ascribes to them. That they could not be built till since 
Alexander's time, may be conjectured from this, among other 
arguments — because the Aqueduct, which conveys the water 
from hence to Tyre, is carried over the neck of land, by which 



288 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 

Alexander in his famous siege of this place joyn'd the City to 
the Continent. And as the Cisterns cannot well be ima- 
gined to be ancienter than the Aqueduct ; so one may be sure 
the Aqueduct cannot be older than the ground it stands upon." 

To the denunciations of the Prophet Ezekiel against Tyre, 
quoted at pp. 136 — 138, may be added the brief but energe- 
tic prediction of Zechariah (ch. ix. 3, 4) of the ruin of that 
devoted city — Tyrns did build herself a strong hold ; and heaped 
up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 
Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power 
in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire. 

Possibly the expression of the Prophet Isaiah (doubtless 
alluding to the most ancient Tyre) might be thought to 
weaken the remark, at p. 139, that the Insular Town was not 
necessarily to be considered as identical with the Old City — 
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle : (ch. xxiii. 2, G.) But 
Bishop Lowth translates this passage — Ye inhabitants of the 
sea-coast. This is very learnedly discussed by Reland (Pa- 
lestine, pp. 1050, 1051.) Poole and Vitringa both accord 
with this rendering. Ancient Tyre is by Strabo repre- 
sented to be what would seem considerably south: this Writer 
says (Geography, Book xvi. under " Syria") " Tyre is dis- 
tant from Sidon not more than two hundred stadia. Between 
them is a city named Ornithon; (woa/^vwv, 'Ogv/^v voXig toyofiUv 
called the City of Birds ?) After this, near Tyre, a river dis- 
embogues itself. After Tyre is Palae-Tyrus, thirty, stadia 
distant." Thirty stadia would be nearly four miles English. 
The impression made on my mind, after consulting various 
authorities, is one which entirely concurs with both the pro- 
phetic writings and the actual view of the spot — namely, that 
between Modern Tyre, and Khan Nahoura, (though much 
nearer to the former,) existed Palse-Tyrus ; being built to the 
water's edge: which would explain Ezekiel xxvii. 3. 

D. 

STATE OF THE JEWS AT SAFET. 

From what we learned at Safet, it is evident that affairs are 
there much worse with the Jews, than they were at the time 
when Basnage described them. The Reader may compare 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 289 
with the statements given at pp. 180 — 185, the following ac- 
count of Safet, in Book vii. chapter 24. section 1. of Basnage's 
History of the Jews. Having remarked that the zeal of the 
Jews toward the Holy Land is much cooled, he adds, that, of 
the cities to which they resort, " Safet is the most peopled, 
and the most celebrated among them. They there enjoy 
many advantages. For, first, this city, situated in the tribe of 
Naphtali, at a distance of nine miles from Bethsaida, upon a 
mountain with a triple ridge or summit, is extremely difficult 
of access. It is thus protected from the incursions of the 
roving Arabs, who pillage and desolate whatever cities they 
can enter. Secondly, I know not whether it be that the 
Turks are unwilling, by ill-treating the Jews, to occasion the 
depopulation of the town, or whether it is the mildness of the 
Ottomans that attracts the Jews hither ; certain it is that they 
are more numerous at Safet, and that they are more kindly 
treated here, than in all the restxrf the Ottoman Empire 
A third of the inhabitants are Turks : the other two-thirds 
are Jews." 

E. 

ENMITY OF SAMARITANS TO JEWS AND CHRISTIANS. 

Mill, in his " Dissertationes Selectae," has one entire Dis- 
sertation (the xivth) " On the Causes of the Enmity between 
the Jews and the Samaritans." In reference to the exclusive 
regard of the Samaritans to their Pentateuch, noticed in the 
preceding Journal, Mill quotes from them the following de- 
claration : — " Possidemus etiam codicem legis, a temporibus gratice, 
quern scripsit Abia films Pinchasi. Legitur enim scriptum in eo ' 
Ego Abisa filius Pinchasi f. Eleazaris f. Aaronis sacerdotis, 
scripsi hoc in atrio Tabernacidi Co?ivocationis, in monte Garizim, 
anno decinio tertio a reversione filiorum Israel in terram Canaan 
et in fines ejus circumcirca. Laudo Dominum" He adds, " Eum- 
que tantd religione colunt, ut, prater sacerdotem summum, nemo 
attingere eum audeat. Codicem autem Hebrceum non modo sper- 
mine sed etiam diris dqyovent." 

Mill further relates, that the enmity of the Samaritans has 

u 



290 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 

not been less bitter against the Christians ; quoting, in proof, 
the following passage from Eutychius : " In the twenty-first 
year of the reign of Justinian, the Samaritans, having made 
an incursion into Palestine, destroyed all the Churches, and 
cast fire into them : they likewise killed many Christians, 
cruelly tormented others, and murdered the Bishop of Nablous. 
Hearing of this, Justinian the Emperor sent a large army, and 
slew a great multitude of Samaritans." The consequence of 
this war was, that the Christians would not admit into the 
bosom of the Church any Samaritan who was desirous of 
becoming a Christian, under less than two years' probation, 
(Millii Dissertationes Selectee, p. 435. & p. 453.) 

F. 

POPULATION OF JERUSALEM. 

In addition to what is said, at pp. 238, 239, on the po^- 
pulation of Jerusalem, it may be remarked, that, in reference 
to the Holy City, (as, indeed, all places in the Levant,) the 
most various statements are to be found in different writers. 
There can be little doubt, however, that Hasselquist has 
committed a very great error, when he says, (( Jerusalem has 
amongst its inhabitants 20,000 Jews." (Voyages in the East, 
" Jerusalem.") It may be agreeable to the reader to hear a 
more moderate estimate, certainly more near the truth, by the 
late Professor Carlyle : " The population," he says, " consists 
of 9000 Mahomedans, 3000 Jews, 2000 Greeks, 600 Latins, 
200 Armenians, 100 Jacobites or Syrians, and two or three 
families of Copts or Maronites." (See Walpole's Memoirs, 
p. 187.) This would make a total of about 15,000; which is 
the utmost that the Author conceives the city would contain, 
in ordinary circumstances. 

G. 

NUMBER OF CONVENTS IN JERUSALEM. 

The number of Christian Convents in Jerusalem was stated 
to me thus: — thirteen Greek Convents; of which some are 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 291 
for Monks, others for Nuns — three Armenian ; two for 
Monks, and one for Nuns — two Coptic — one Abyssinian — 
one Latin ; with another Religious House attached to it. 
This would give a total of twenty-one Monastic Establish- 
ments : but some of them are very poor and mean, and, except 
during the season for Pilgrims, scarcely tenanted. In the 
Convent of Mar Michael, where we lodged, there were, be- 
sides ourselves, the Superior — his Sister — the Superior of the 
Monastery of St. Saba — and two or three poor Greeks or Ana- 
tolians ; who seem hardly to know either how to live here, or 
how to get away, or what place to go to. 



H. 

RIGOUR OF THE ADVENT-FAST. 

The rigour of the Lent which is kept during the four weeks 
of Advent began before I left Jerusalem. Among other per- 
sons who were suffering under it, was the aged Sister of the 
Superior of the Convent of Mar Michael. I had given the 
Superior some medicine, which he found very beneficial ; on 
which his Sister applied to me for similar relief. On making 
inquiry into her diet, I found that she was so impoverishing 
her constitution by fasting, that, at her advanced age and 
with her infirmities, I doubted the safety of administering me- 
dicine of sufficient power to remove her indisposition. Her 
illness was, in fact, entirely owing to bad and low food. She 
complained that she had lost all appetite : I recommended 
her to take a little meat to strengthen her stomach, or at least 
some broth. At this she grew outrageous — walked up to me, 
as if she was about to quarrel — and asked whether I wished 
her to neglect her Religion and her duty to God : this she 
would never do ! I applied some simple arguments, but they 
only served to irritate ; and I, therefore, desisted. She after- 
ward, several times, complained to my servant, because I 
had not sufficient skill to restore the tone of her appetite, 
without disturbing her fast. 

u 2 



*2!)2 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 



I. 

JEWS IN ABYSSINIA. 

Concerning a people so interesting as the Jews, and a 
country so interesting as Abyssinia, it is desirable to collate 
every possible kind of information, both new and old. The 
very imperfect account obtained (see p. 247) from the Abys- 
sinian Priest whom I met at Jerusalem will receive further 
light from the History of Ludolf, with the Commentary ; in 
which the state of the Jews up to the period of 1691 is re- 
corded. The following extract is from the History : — 

" Besides the men of Abyssinian extraction, various other 
nations inhabit this country ; namely, Jews, Mahomedans, 
and very many Gentiles mixed with the rest. The Jews for- 
merly held many and ample regions — nearly all Dembea; as, 
also, Wagara and Samen, among the rocks of which they 
stoutly defended themselves, till driven out by Susneus. 
Formerly, they inhabited those regions by their own right : 
from whence, probably, arose the fable, that somewhere under 
the dominion of Prester John, or near it, they still possessed 
power under some Jewish King. They now dwell scattered : 
and many yet remain in Dembea, who support themselves by 
making clothes, and by smith's-work, in which they are par- 
ticularly skilful. Others, passing beyond the boundaries of 
the kingdom, westward, betook themselves to dwell among 
the Caffres, near the Nile ; and these are called by the Ethio- 
pians 4 Falashan,' that is, 1 Exiles.' Very many still have their 
Synagogues, and their Hebrew Bibles, and use a corrupt 
Talmudical dialect among themselves. Did not the Fathers 
of the Society of Jesuits make research, when, or on what 
occasion, these Jews first came into Ethiopia ?.... whether 
they belong to the Karaites, or to any other Jewish Sect ? . . . . 
what Sacred Books they use, with or without points ? . . . . 
whether they possess ether books, especially historical; or, 
at least, traditions concerning their nation and that of Abys- 
sinia ? .... the knowledge of which particulars would, doubt- 



NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 293 
less, prove most grateful to literary men ; since it is by no 
means improbable, that they are in possession of Ancient 
Books, having so long resided securely in such well-defended 
places." (Ludo/f Hist. JEthiop. Lib. I. c. 14. sub Jinem,) 

The following more particular confirmation of the pre- 
ceding account of the Abyssinian Jews, is given by Ludolf, in 
his second Work, entitled ' The Commentary/ and printed ten 
years after the History. 

" We noticed in the ' History/ that the Jews resided for- 
merly in Dembea and Samen, by their own right. This had 
been already related by Benjamin de Tudela, under the head 
of e Abyssinia, in his Itinerary ; only he names the province, 
Telsar, with which I am unacquainted. ' In that province/ 
he says, 1 there are great mountains, inhabited by very many 
of the Israelites. Neither is the yoke of the Gentiles upon 
them : for they have cities and fortified places upon the tops 
of the mountains.' 

u Constantine l'Empereur, in his notes on this passage, 
treats the account as a fable. ' Never,' he says, * will the 
Jews be able to prove that they inhabit cities and regions on 
such terms, as not to be subject to others.' Yet B. Tellezius, 
whom we have followed, plainly holds it to be so : 1 The 
Jews,' he relates, ' formerly possessed many and ample re- 
gions, nearly all the kingdom of Dembea, and the provinces 
Wagara and Samen ; but they were, at length, ejected by the 
Abyssiniaus.' He adds, ' In Samen, however, they defended 
themselves most bravely, being aided by the exceedingly high 
and rugged nature of the mountains. Nevertheless the Em- 
peror Sultan-Seghed [SusneusJ in later years subjugated 
them.' Thus writes Tellezius : from which it is evident that 
they did not obey- the Emperor of the Abyssinians, and that 
Benjamin de Tudela was not incorrect. Besides which, the 
history of Dunawasi is notorious ; that he, being a Jew, pos- 
sessed the kingdom of the Homerites, and thus the Jews 
possessed power under him. The Patriarch Andrew Oviedo 
thus writes to Sebastian, King of Portugal : 1 The Jews have 
possession of the tops of the mountains, with many other 
regions which have been taken from the Christians \ nor can 



294 NOTES TO THE JOLUNAL. 

the King regain them, on account of the rugged rocks, and 
the smallness of his forces.' In the years 1607 and 1608 the 
Jews were still strong and powerful, warlike, and formidable 
to the Kings of the Abyssinians, on account of the inacces- 
sible mountains which they inhabit. 

" That excellent man, Constantine l'Empereur, formerly 
my kind preceptor, was fearful, that if he admitted the Auto- 
cracy of the Jews in any corner of the world, it would tend to 
shake the prophecy of Jacob in Genesis xlix. 10. That pas- 
sage, however, is to be regarded as having reference to the 
entire Polity of the Kingdom and Priesthood of the Jews, 
and that in the Land of Promise likewise, namely Palestine : 
nor do the Jews themselves understand it otherwise." (Lu- 
dolf Comment, in Hist, ^thiop. No. CI. pp. 198, 199.) 



REMARKS 

ON THE 

Natural, ctitnl, attii Utliqiom gute 

OF 

SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 



•297 



NATURAL STATE 

OF 

SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND, 

The Author has reserved for this Section a variety 
of Notes, which he made in the course of his 
Journey, but which have not found a place in the 
more regular narrative. In the arrangement of 
them, he has aimed at giving the reader a connect- 
ed, though necessarily a rapid and imperfect, sketch 
of a country rendered most deeply interesting to all 
Christians, as comprehending the scenes of the 
larger part of Scripture-History. The circumstances 
of the natural condition of this land — its soil, 
culture, produce, &c. — are described nearly in the 
geographical order of the Author's tour. 

The Reader will trace in the Map the various 
places mentioned, beginning at the northern bound- 
ary of the Holy Land. 

From Sidon to Tyre is generally one continued 
plain, varying from 300 to 1000 yards in width. 
Nearer to Tyre it becomes considerably wider; 
and forms, to the east of that ancient city, on every 
side, a rich and pleasing country : about Ras el Ain, 
in particular, the meadows, variegated by stream- 
lets, are very picturesque, and capable of being 
rendered highly productive*. 

Having crossed the line of mountains lying half- 

* It appears, however, from Acts xii. 20, that the inhabitants of 
this region drew, in the time of Herod, their principal sustenance 
from the southern parts of Palestine. 



298 STATE OF SYUIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

way between Tyre and Acre, a noble prospect of 
rich plain lies extended beneath your feet ; the 
boundaries of which are, the line of sea-coast to the 
west, reaching to Mount Carmel ; and, on the east, 
the hill-country on the way to Nazareth. All this 
land is fine soil for cultivation. At its south, or 
south-east angle, it communicates with the vast 
Plain of Esdraelon, hereafter to be noticed. In 
the month of December, as I found much to my 
inconvenience, the Plains both of Tyre and Acre 
are abundantly saturated by the rains. It may be 
difficult to fix, with exactness, the dimensions of 
the Plain of Acre: from north to south, however, 
it appears to the eye to vary in length from twelve 
to eighteen miles ; while, in breadth, it may ave- 
rage nearly ten miles. 

Proceeding eastward from Acre, we enter, after 
going about ten miles, on a long valley, commencing 
nearly at Abilene ; which, in various parts, is well 
planted, and probably in all parts might be so, with 
olives. It abounds also with low wood, fit for 
burning. 

Opening out of this valley is a??other plain, which 
we crossed somewhat diagonally on the way to 
Sephoury. This must be part of the Plain of Gali- 
lee ; and, from the view which we subsequently had, 
at a distance, of the central object, the Castle of Se- 
phoury, when entering upon this plain at the eastern 
end of it, on coming from the Lake of Tiberias, the 
extent of this fertile portion of Galilee must be very 
considerable: it may, perhaps, be computed to be 
nearly twenty miles long; and, in width, varying 
from one or two to five or six miles : I am more 
doubtful of the estimate of its width, than of that 



NATURAL. 290 

of the length. It is also interrupted by some low 
hill-country. Its richness and suitableness for corn- 
land is equally apparent with that of the other 
plains; or, perhaps, more so. Between Sephoury 
and the hills of Nazareth we remarked many herds 
of cattle, in the midst of verdant and well- watered 
pasturage. 

Josephus reports Nazareth to have been the prin- 
cipal station in Galilee. From that place to Tibe- 
rias, the road lies over hilly country, of gentle 
ascent and descent ; leaving Tabor and Hermon on 
the right hand : the soil generally bears either olives, 
or the valena — a species of oak, the acorns of which 
are used in tanning ; though I did not learn whether 
they are much employed in the country, or whether 
they furnish exports. The last hill, leading down 
to the Lake of Tiberias, is very precipitous : here 
the country seems very dark, adust, and dry. 

From Tiberias to Safet, the road is, at first, by 
the side of the Lake, on the north-west of which is 
a small plain of great freshness and verdure, very 
beautiful to the eye. There is a dyeing-mill near 
this part, which was established a few years ago by 
a Neapolitan in the service of the Facha of Acre : 
he has been dead some time. The greater part of 
the road to Safet is up a long ascent of four hours; 
the ground rocky, yet intermixed generally with 
good soil: much of this tract, which, when we 
passed it with a bleak north-wind in our faces, ap- 
peared to us a dreary waste, might be made pro- 
ductive in the winter months : in summer it is 
probably burnt, for want of water. Around Safet, 
where are several springs, there are beautiful spots 



300 STATE OK SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

of garden and orchard-ground, with extensive olive- 
yards. 

From Safet to Hatty n, the first part of the road 
is generally on the descent, through a rocky and 
uncultivated tract, on the western side of an irre- 
gular and bold ravine, which appears to extend 
from Safet nearly to the foot of the Mount of the 
Beatitudes. The latter part, however, of this tract, as 
far as to Hattyn, round which is excellent land, is, 
generally, soil capable of cultivation, with gentle 
slopes, and partially watered by brooks which run 
in the valleys. Ascending to the top of the line of 
hills, at the end of which is the Mountain of the 
Beatitudes, we have an extensive view before us of 
elevated plain: it reaches nearly all the way to 
Cana of Galilee toward the left : and, toward the 
right, the Castle of Sephoury, at a considerable 
distance, seems to mark that this plain, with some 
variation of hill and dale, communicates with that 
which has been already described as lying between 
Abilene and Sephoury ; forming, all together, the 
Plain of Galilee, From Cana to Nazareth, rocky 
and improvable soil alternately appears. 

It is to be observed, however, that, even in those 
ruder parts which appear among the mountains, the 
fig-tree and other fruit-trees may be reared, all con- 
tributing to the sustenance of man. Although the 
quantity of corn-land is that which mainly consti- 
tutes the wealth of a country, yet, in this eastern 
climate, fruit is far more considered in the light of 
a valuable produce than it is in England. I have 
noticed, in fact, that there is, in various parts of the 
Levant, a kind of contempt felt for every sort of 



NATURAL, 801 

tree which does not give fruit. A tree merely for 
ornament would, in most places, be regarded as an 
incumbrance, or at best fit only to shade a Maho- 
medan burying-ground. Trees for timber, where 
such grow, as on Mount Lebanon, have, of course, 
their merited honour. I know not whether this 
estimate of the value of trees may not have been in 
the mind of the Psalmist, when writing that passage 
in which he calls upon mountains and all hills, 
fruitful trees and all cedars, to praise the Lord : 
(Ps. cxlviii. 9.) Certainly these two descriptions 
are the most common and the most desired in these 
parts : but particularly fruit-trees ; as olives, vines, figs, 
pomegranates, &c. Cotton is also grown in Galilee. 

But to resume our excursion. To the south of 
the chain of hills on which Nazareth is situated, 
is the vast and ever-memorable Plain of Esdraelon. 
We computed this Plain to be at least fifteen 
miles square ; making allowance for some appa- 
rent irregularities, such as its running out, on the 
west, toward Mount Carmel, and, on the oppo- 
site side, toward Jordan. We passed rather on the 
eastern side of the middle of the Plain, in our way 
to Gennyn. Although it bears the title of * Plain/ 
yet it abounds with hills, which, in the view of it 
from the adjacent mountains, shrink into nothing. 
On this noble Plain*, if there were perfect security 
from the Government — a thing now unknown for 

* The Author cannot resist the temptation to adorn his page 
with the following brilliant passage from the Travels of the lamented 
Dr. Clarke. It is a full and rapid sketch of the martial events which, 
during a period of thirty centuries, have occupied unquiet man upon 
this spot. " Here it was," he observes, " that Barak, descending 
with his ten thousand men from Mount Tabor, discomfited Sisera, 
and all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron ; and all the 
people that were with him, gathered from Harosheth of the Gentiles, 

unto 



•302 STATE O F SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

centuries — twenty-five good towns, where we saw 
but five miserable villages, might stand, at a di- 
stance of three miles from one another, each with a 
population of a thousand souls, to the great improve- 
ment of the cultivation of so bountiful a soil. The 
land is not, indeed, neglected : but let none suppose, 
that, in this country, the greatest, or any thing like 
the greatest possible profit is made of the soil ; while 
wars, feuds, extortions, and all the disadvantages 
resulting from Turkish Government and Arab Ri- 
valry are continually harassing the common people, 
and reducing husbandry and every art to the lowest 
state of degradation. 

From this Plain there are, on the south, several 
entrances, by different v alleys, into the region of the 
Mountains of Samaria. The entrance by the Vale 
of Gennyn is, at first, narrow ; but, after a while, it 
becomes wider. As I returned by it toward the close 
of December, on one of those glowing afternoons 
peculiar to this Oriental climate and so different 
from any thing known in England at that keen sea- 
son, the slanting rays of the sun upon the nevvly- 

unto the river of Kishon ; when all the host of Sisera fell on the 
sword, and there was not a man left. Here also it was, that Jo- 
siah, King of Judah, fought in disguise against Necho, King of 
Egypt, and fell by the arrows of his antagonist. It has been a 
.chosen place for encampment in every contest carried on in this 
country, from the days of Nabuchodonosor, King of the Assyrians, 
(in the history of whose war with Arphaxad it is mentioned as the 
Great Plain of Esdrelom,) until the disastrous march of Napoleon 
Buonaparte from Egypt into Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Chris- 
tian Crusaders, and Anti-Christian Frenchmen, Egyptians, Persians, 
Druses, Turks, and Arabs, warriors out of every nation which is 
under heaven, have pitched their tents upon the Plain of Esdraelon, 
and have beheld the various banners of their Nations wet with the 
dews of. Tabor and of Hermon." (Clarke s Travels in Greece, 
Egypt, and the Holy Land ; Chap. XV.) 



NATURAL. 303 

risen blades of corn in some parts, and the busy 
yokes of oxen in others turning up the soil previ- 
ously to receiving the seed, had an effect peculiarly 
charming. The early rains having already well 
moistened the earth, the seed shews itself in about 
ten or twelve days after it is cast into the ground. 
This Vale becomes still more beautiful near Sanoor, 
a singular fortress, built upon a steep and almost 
solitary hill, about half-way between Gennyn and 
Nablous. Here it opens into a fair champaign coun- 
try for a mile or two ; and then, near Gebah, closes 
again into a valley, rich with the finest and most 
extensive olive-yards : these are what the Scriptures 
denominate the fat valleys* of Ephraim. (Isaiah 
xxviii. 1, 4): they are abundant near Nablous, and 
again near Sangyl ; and, doubtless, in many other 
parts of these mountains. These valleys anciently 
furnished an article of export, as is mentioned by 
Hosea : Oil is carried into Egypt (ch. xii. 1) ; with 
a view to court the alliance of that kingdom. 

Before reaching Nablous, there is some very high 
and dreary mountainous country — the mountains of 
the heighth of Israel. Yet, even here, strips of 
valley with rich soil repay the toil of the sower ; 

* tD^Dttf-K^. But the name, resulting from this description 
of soil, has been durably attached to another spot, close to Jeru- 
salem. It will interest the reader to be reminded of the significa- 
tion of the word gethsemane. It means the Vale of Fatness, in 
allusion to the fertile olive-trees which anciently adorned the adja- 
cent Mount of Olives; and which, even yet, in scanty numbers, 
reach from the summit of the Mountain down to some parts of the 
Valley beneath. This Vale of Fatness, which was witness to the 
agonies of the Man of Sorrows, may still claim the title of Geth- 
semane, having several low and aged olive-trees, eight of which are 
pointed out to Pilgrims as denoting the site of the Garden of the 
Agony. (See Reland's Palestine, pp. 348, and 857.) 



304 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

while the sides of these ruddy sun-burnt hills seem 
peculiarly adapted for the training of vines. They 
are, however, almost totally neglected ; forming, 
doubtless, a remarkable contrast to their state in the 
days of Israel's prosperity, when the drunkards of 
JEphraim (Isaiah xxviii. 1, 3, 7) prided themselves 
in the abundance and strength of their wines. How 
celebrated these parts once were for this article of 
produce, we learn from several notices in the Old 
Testament: Gideon, by a happy comparison, thus 
disparages his own services in the presence of the 
Ephraimites — Is not the gleaning of the grapes of 
Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? (Judges 
viii. 2): and the restoration of Israel is described, 
partly by their return to the rearing of the vineyards, 
which should yield, as formerly they had done, an 
abundant vintage — Thou shalt yet plant vines upon 
the mountains of Samaria : the planters shall plant, 
and shall eat them as common things: (Jerem. xxxi. 5.) 

This country is now almost exclusively peopled 
by Mahomedans, which may partly account for the 
neglect of the vine ; yet not wholly : for the Maho- 
medan, though he may not drink wine, may never- 
theless eat of the grape as much as he pleases. 
Yet, in all this route from Gennyn to Jerusalem, I 
saw in one place only, on the road side, a vineyard. 
This was about four hours north of Jerusalem, at 
Yabroud : and when, on my return that way, I slept 
at this village, I noticed the circumstance to the 
Sheik : he immediately produced a large wooden 
bowl, full of ill-dried raisins, of no very pleasant 
flavour. Even these, however, the poor villagers 
did not grow for themselves ; but sent them as a 
kind of present or tribute to obtain favour at Da- 



NAT U UAL. §05 

mascus, which is their Pachalic : as though that 
curse in Deuteronomy xxviii. 30 were inherent in 
the very soil, and attached to the Mahomedan as 
well as Jewish occupiers of it — Thou shall plant a 
vineyard, and shalt not gather [read, eat] the grapes 
thereof. 

South of Nablous, from Beer to Jerusalem, the 
country seems to assume a more forbidding aspect : 
yet it is not wholly uncultivated ; and, with a 
happier population, might, in many parts, become 
sufficiently productive. The immediate vicinity of 
Jerusalem is rugged and unpromising ; yet, even 
here, the olive* and vine might flourish, under pro- 
per culture. 

In this general sketch, necessarily limited to the 
line of actual observation, no notice has been taken 
of the Vale of Sharon and the adjacent country — 
forming a vast and fertile plain of arable land ; and 
extending, as it has been described to me, nearly 
one hundred miles, from Mount Carmel to Gaza. 
How valuable this land must have been to Solomon, 
when he made his engagement with Hiram — and to 
Herod, when he marked his displeasure against 
them of Tyre and Sido?i — may be inferred from 
1 Kings v. 7 — 11. and Acts xii. 20. From old in- 
habitants — in remarking on the quantity of corn 
now brought from Egypt into Syria — I have heard 
that they could remember the time, when, on the 
contrary, corn was carried down into Egypt from 
Jaffa, and all the region round about that port. 

* Oil out of the flinty rock (Deut. xxxii. 13) plainly denotes, that 
it was not in rich land only, that this most valuable tree should 
grow. So also Poole, in his Synopsis, remarks on this passage, 
** Olivce inter saxa mire fructificant" 

X 



300 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

It is on the regular falls of rain that the fertility 
of this country entirely depends — the early and the 
latter rains, in their season : that is, the early about 
October, cheering the soil after the extreme heats 
of summer ; and the latter, in January and Fe- 
bruary, swelling the rising crops with which the val- 
leys are covered. From these bountiful showers of 
heaven, indeed, the fertility of every land springs : 
but how dreadful, in this country, would be such a 
three years' drought as was inflicted upon Israel in 
the days of Ahab, may easily be conceived, when 
it is remembered that in summer the richest soil is 
burnt to dust ; so that a Traveller, riding through 
the Plain of Esdraelon in July or August, would 
imagine himself to be crossing a desert. 

With regard to water, some parts of the Holy 
Land appeared, in the months of October and No- 
vember, to labour under great privation : yet, even 
in this respect, Art might furnish a remedy, in the 
tanks and cisterns, which a little industry would 
form and preserve. The cities and villages have 
such supplies ; and, in every stage of seven or eight 
hours, there are usually found, once or twice at 
least, either cisterns or muddy wells. In some 
places, a person at the well claimed payment for the 
water, which he drew for us and our animals ; but 
this was probably an imposition, although by us 
willingly paid. Generally, we found this want of 
water to be a source of great inconvenience in our 
journeys ; for, even in October, the mid-day heat is 
intense, and the moisture of the body is soon ex- 
hausted. In many spots, however, as if to remind 
us of what Palestine once was, a beautiful strip of 
verdure is seen — extending sometimes for the short 



NATURAL. 307 

space of a hundred yards, at other places for seven 
or eight hundred — denoting the presence of water; 
and here would be found a small native spring bub- 
bling up, which, after winding its simple course, and 
blessing the land on either side, is re-absorbed by 
the soil. At such places, the husbandman has often 
planted a few fruit-trees and vegetables : as may be 
seen mid-way in the valley leading from Nazareth 
to the Plain of Esdraelon ; exactly answering to 
the expression in Isaiah (lviii. 11) — Thou shalt be 
like a watered garden ; and like a spring of water > 
whose waters fail not. Here, too, the flocks are 
brought to drink, before they are driven in for the 
night ; or groupes of females and children (as we 
saw them at Sephoury) hasten, at even-tide, with 
their pitchers, to take in their supply of water. 
Such short-lived streamlets I observed at Sychem, 
at Khan Leban, and in various places : they just 
serve, by their appearance, though not by their num- 
ber, to illustrate the expressions, describing to the 
Israelites the Land of Canaan before they entered 
it — The Lord thy Godbringeth thee into a good land > 
a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths 
that spring out of valleys and hills : (Deut. viii. 7.) 
Similar, and equally exact in description, is the 
language of the civth Psalm : He sendeth the 
springs into the valleys, which run among the 
hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the 
wild asses quench their thirst. The word "Ain" 
(Fountain) denotes the existence of such spots : at 
two places, ( Ainep near Deir el Kamr, and Yabroud 
near Jerusalem) the guides pointed out to me other 
villages at a little distance, to which they prefixed 
this word ; distinguishing these second villages from 



308 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

the first by the names of Ain el Ainep, and Ain el 
Yabroud : probably this may be the case with many 
other names of places ; and it may be useful to Tra- 
vellers to be aware of this distinction. In the Old 
Testament, such names have been translated with 
the prefix En ; as Endor, Enrogel, Engedi, &c. 
From the passage in Joshua xvii. 11, the distinction 
of places, with and w ithout this prefix, seems to 

have existed from ancient times. Manasseh had 

the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inha- 
bitants of Endor and her toiuns*. 

As the general result of my remarks on Palestine, 
in respect of its Natural State, I cannot but own, 
that a peculiarly melancholy impression is made on 
the feelings, by seeing so much land left desolate, 
and so few people scattered over the face of the 
country. Yet there is no fair reason for pronouncing 
this land naturally unproductive. Its present bar- 
ren state, while it is to be regarded as, in the strict- 
est sense, denoting a judicial curse, is nevertheless 
such as may be traced, generally, to the operation 
of natural causes. A righteous God has turned, in 
the fulfilment of his long-suspended threatenings, a 
fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of 
them that dwelt therein: but it has been through the 
instrumentality of this very wickedness — the in- 
creasing wickedness of the inhabitants — that the 
awful change has been effected. Were good go- 
vernment, good faith, and good manners to flourish 

* The distance between Dor and En-dor was, however, very con- 
siderable — Dor having been a town on the sea-coast, a little south 
of Acre ; while En-dor is represented by Eusebius as a considerable 
town at the foot of Mount Tabor : which may be at a distance of about 
twenty miles. There is also a slight difference in the Hebrew 
spelling of the two words. See Reland's Palest, pp. 738, 762. 



NATURAL. 309 

in this land for half a century, it would literally 
become again a land flowing with milk and honey : 
the proper fruits of the mountains, honey and wax, 
would be collected by the industrious bee from 
myriads of fragrant plants : the plains, the valleys, 
and the upland slopes, would yield corn for man, 
and pasturage to innumerable flocks and herds. 
Such a stupendous and delightful change might 
well gladden, not only every child of Israel, but 
the heart of every Christian, 



310 



CIVIL STATE 

OF 

SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

As to the civil condition of this region, it is almost 
reflected, as in a mirror, in its Natural State. Com- 
merce, and Government, and Domestic Life, all 
speak one unvarying tale of degradation. 

COMMERCE. 

In reference to Commerce, it is in my province 
to say but little. Damascus is the mart of Syria. 
Aleppo was rich; but suffered greatly by the earth- 
quake of 1822. All the sea-coast towns have more 
or less trade with Cyprus, Alexandria, Smyrna, and, 
occasionally, with even more distant ports. Gene- 
rally, however, from want of stability in their re- 
spective governments, affairs move languidly : and 
who, that has read the records of ancient times, but 
must sigh over that peculiar depression which seems 
to characterize the trade, if such it may be called, 
of the southern parts of Palestine? 

It has been remarked, that Jerusalem is, by its 
very situation, calculated to become the centre of 
the earth*; central to the three Continents of the 
Old World : but, at present, the idea is a mere fic- 
tion, and has no practical bearing. We might 

* In accordance with this idea, the Christians of Jerusalem take 
a pride in pointing out a particular spot in the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, which they entitle, in Arabic, Nofs ed-dinya ; that is, 
" the Centre of the World :" it is marked by an ornamented piece 
of marble. The first person who noticed it to me was the Abys- 
sinian Priest, as we were walking in the Abyssinian Convent, which 

is 



CIVIL. 311 
almost exclaim with the weeping Prophet, Who 
shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem f or ivho shall 
bemoan thee f or who shall go aside, to ask how thou 
doest F (Jerem. xv. 5.) 

And where is now the commercial greatness of 
Tyre ? Probably, no National Tariff of the present 
day exhibits a more interesting variety of produce 
and manufacture, than that recorded with such mi- 
nuteness in the xxviith chapter of Ezekiel. And 
yet who, that now looks upon the desolate isle of 
Tyre, would suppose that she had once been the Mis- 
tress of Commerce and the Parent of Colonies ? The 
prize of national wealth has passed from hand to 
hand, among four great nations, which seem to have 
drawn almost a circle round her, close to her very 
borders — from Ethiopia and Egypt, the cradle of 
nations, to Assyria : thence to Persia : thence again 
to Greece. In the centre of them all, Tyre, long 
after her first ruin, continued to maintain a splendid 
rank. But the glitter of gold has now for ages fled 
westward. The over-land trade of Asia has gradu- 
ally, during three centuries, been crippled by the 
discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope: 
other nations, other continents, have now the Com- 
merce of the Earth in their hands ; and probably 
few busy and great merchants of the present 
generation have ever heard much more of Tyre than 
the name. 



is contiguous to that side of the Church : he repeated several times, 
pointing in the direction of this spot, " Nofs ed-dinya, Nofs ed- 
dinya /" — as if in ecstasy at the thought of being near a place so 
venerable. The Ancient Greeks had the same notion about Delphi 
— as plausible and unmeaning a conceit as could well be devised to 
amuse the common people, or furnish the poet with matter for high- 
sounding words. 



312 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

All these circumstances merit notice, in delineat- 
ing the Civil degradation of Modern Palestine. 

GOVERNMENT. 

With regard to the Government of the Country, 
the Pachas are so frequently changed, or so often at 
war*, the jurisdiction of the inferior Governors of 
Cities is so undefined, and the hereditary or assumed 
rights of the Sheiks of particular districts are so 
various, that, to a person making diligent inquiry, 
it might be difficult to discover any settled rule by 
which Government is directed ; and, certainly, to a 
passer-by in Turkey, there appears to be none. It 
is thus that Turkey is generally regarded by Travel- 
lers. The whole empire, it may be said, in the 
words of Homer, ssn %vgov wtcltcci otz^' (Iliad. *'.) 
— and it has the appearance of being so fortuitously 
balanced " on the edge of the razor," that the 
slightest movement seems likely to overturn it. Still 
it stands — not flourishing, not stable, not tolerable 
to an intelligent lover of mankind — yet existing ! 
As it exhibits at the fountain-head the form of abso- 
lute Despotism so all the subordinate institutions 
of the country, down to the Sheik of the most insigni- 
ficant village, take their character from the source. 

* Burckhardt (" Travels in Syria," pp. 169 — 171) gives an ac- 
count of the vicissitudes of the Pachalic of Tripoli, during a period 
comprising nearly fifty years in modern times. From his statement 
it appears, that the average period of the reign of those Pachas was 
about four years ; their government being continually interrupted, 
and sometimes terminated, by feuds, wars, and murders. 

f The following extract from Burckhardt places, in a striking 
light, the state of insecurity in which the subjects~of the Despotic 
Rulers of these countries live : — 

" A few years ago, Djebail was the residence of the Christian, 
Abd el Ahad : he and his brother Georgios Bas were the head men 
pf the Emir Bechir ; and, in fact, were more potent than their 

master. 



civil. 313 
It were superfluous to dwell at length on this topic. 
The general state of things inTurkey is this : absolute 
power, often stretching beyond the reach of controul, 
finds, nevertheless, a counteracting principle, in that 
extreme degree of acuteness to which, in individuals, 
the instinct of self-preservation is sharpened by the 
constant apprehension of wrong*. Hence springs 
that conflict, not always visible, but always opera- 
ting, between force and fraud, between man blinded 

master. Georgios Bas resided at Deir el Kamr. The district of Dje- 
bail was under the command of Abd el Ahad, who built a very good 
house here. But the two brothers shared the fate of all Christians 
who attempt to rise above their sphere : they were both put to death 
in the same hour, by the Emir's orders. Indeed there is scarcely an 
instance, in the modern history of Syria, of a Christian or Jew having 
long enjoyed the power or riches which he may have acquired : 
these persons are always taken off in the moment of their greatest 
apparent glory. Abd el Hak, at Antioch; Hanna Kubbe, at Lada- 
kie ; Karaly, at Aleppo ; are all examples of this remark. But, as 
in the most trifling, so in the most serious concerns, the Levantine 
enjoys the present moment, without ever reflecting on future conse- 
quences." (Burckhardt" s Syria, pp. 179, 189.) 

At p. 151 of the preceding Journal, the death of Haiim, the Jew 
Prime-Minister of Djezzar, Pacha of Acre, was mentioned. The 
following almost-prophetic language of Burckhardt (Travels, p. 180) 
was thus fulfilled in reference to this very man ; not, indeed, that it 
requires any thing more than an ordinary measure of sagacity to 
foresee what will one day be the fate of any tool or favourite of a 
Turkish Ruler : — 

" The house of Hayne [Haiim] the Jew Seraf, or banker, at 
Damascus and Acre, whose family may be said to be the real Gover- 
nors of Syria, and whose property, at the most moderate calculation, 
amounts to three hundred thousand pounds sterling, are daily ex- 
posed to the same fate. The head of the family, a man of great 
talents, has lost his nose, his ears, and one of his eyes, in the service 
of Djezzar: yet his ambition is still unabated; and he prefers a 
most precarious existence^ with power, in Syria, to the ease and 
security he might enjoy by emigrating to Europe." 

* It has been before stated (see p. 163) that Civil Protection can 
be obtained in these countries only by purchase. As an illustration 
of the mode in which this is effected, and the burden of taxation 
divided by different Religious Bodies, the following account from 

the 



314 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HO^Y LAND. 

by authority and the cunning sufferer, which charac- 
terizes the civil relations of society here. A less en- 
lightened, or a more demoralizing state, can hardly 
be conceived : but it exists at every step of public 
and private life, and is the key to most proceedings 
either at the Court or before the Tribunal. 

In the allotment of authority — divided and sub- 
divided as it is, yet always nominally, and often 

the Jesuits, when in Syria, is remarkably in point: which must serve 
as an apology for the length of this note. 

" The kind of persecution," observes one of their Correspondents, 
" which the Turks exercise on the Christians, consists not so much 
in torments and death, as in pecuniary fines, called Avanias. The 
usage here is, that, when any one accuses any of the Christians on 
the ground of religion, they seize the principal individuals of the 
nation of the accused person ; and, after having bastinadoed them, 
they demand a contribution, which is levied on the whole nation, 
Greek, Syrian, or whichever it may be. Some years since, the 
Pacha being gone to Mecca, the Catholics were accused of having 
become Franks, and of praying with the Franks ; in consequence of 
which a heavy Avanla was imposed on them, which reduced them 
to a state of poverty worse than death. To remedy so great an evil, 
I had the honour to write to our French Ambassador at Constantino- 
ple, to request his protection in favour of the persecuted Catholics ; 
and that he would use his influence at the Porte to obtain a Firman, 
which should subject all the Christians without distinction, and not 
the Catholics alone, to the Avanias that might be imposed. In the 
reply with which his Excellency honoured me, he promised to leave 
nothing untried with the Pacha, in order to procure the execution 
of my design, and that he would accompany his request with a pre- 
sent. Some time after, the Schismatics having, according to their 
custom, accused the Catholics of being Franks, a tax of many purses * 
was laid upon them. Following up my project, I engaged the prin- 
cipal persons to request that this Avanla should be levied on all the 
Christians without exception ; urging, that, after all, with the Turks, 
there was no distinction between one Christian and another Chris- 
tian, whether Frank or not, Catholic or not. Their plea was heard 
and admitted : and we have thus taken from the Schismatics the 
handle which they had so often, and with success, employed to annoy 
the Catholics. We hope that this law will remain in force ; at .least 
that it will continue as long as the reign of the present Governor." 

(Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, Vol. I. pp, 272 — 274.) 

* A purse is five hundred piastres. 



civil. 315 
really, absolute— there is something which forcibly 
reminds a Traveller of patriarchal times ; when, at 
each journey of a day or two days' distance, a Prince, 
or a Judge, and not imfrequently a King, was 
to be met with. In the short distance from Jerusa- 
lem by way of Nablous to Sanoor, the three Gover- 
nors of those cities were represented to me as per- 
fectly independent of one another, each a King in 
his own district ; all, indeed, responsible to the 
Pacha of Damascus, and removable at pleasure, 
but probably not one of them knowing the limits of 
his own jurisdiction. 

The subordinate Sheiks of the villages, aware of 
the precarious tenure by which these their temporary 
superiors remain in office, are very apt be trouble- 
some and unmanageable; endeavouring to sustain 
regal importance, each in his own petty sphere. 
They will often tell the Frank Traveller, that they 
respect neither Mootselim, Bey, Pacha, nor Sultan: 
to hear them speak, one would suppose that the 
Governor of a place possessed authority no further 
than the walls of his own city : and in the remoter 
parts of a Pachalic, this is not unlikely to be the 
case; and the Traveller is liable to feel the effects of 
their assumed independence, by the presents which 
they will demand — payment of which they endea- 
vour to exact, or otherwise in some manner put the 
stranger to inconvenience. 

In the southern parts of the Holy Land the an- 
noying spirit of these characters was more apparent 
to me than in the northern ; but probably it exists 
in both *. 

* Strabo has summed up the character of these people in one very 
pithy expression. Speaking of the Ituraeans and Arabs, as being in 

possession 



316 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

Imagination is often led to picture with how much 
greater inconvenience, in the earlier times of Scrip- 
ture History, a stranger must have moved from place 
to place, when every petty district had its Sovereign ; 
Edom her Dukes, and Canaan her Kings. Thus, 
in Joshua xii. 9 — 24, for a space not larger, perhaps, 
than the Principality of Wales, are enumerated 
not fewer than thirty-one Kings. The extent of 
dominion possessed by some of them would proba- 
bly not exceed that of many an English Nobleman 
during the feudal times. In similar style, Benhadad, 
King of Syria, musters in his train two-and-thirty 
Kings ; 1 Kings xx. 1 : and, at the 14th verse, 
we find Ahab, King of the northern half of the 
Holy Land, with princes of the provinces under him ; 
provinces, no doubt, very small, yet their title 
princely. The terms king and kingdom are often 
thus applied, both in the Old and New Testaments, 
to a very small portion of authority : they may oc- 
casionally denote nothing more than the governor 
of a single city, and of the land immediately sur- 
rounding it. Thus, in St. Luke (chap. xix. 12.) 
the Nobleman who went into a far country, and left 
with his ten servants a sum which, in the margin of 
our Bibles, is computed to be between thirty and 
forty pounds sterling, (conveying no great idea of 
his wealth,) is represented as going to receive for 
himself a kingdom, and to return; that is, possibly, 
to be invested with authority, for a limited period, 
over some city, or to take possession of some con- 
siderable estate. 

possession of the mountainous parts, he concisely adds— kxkov^oi 5t*vt« 5 - 
— an expression which will rest long on the memory and imagination 
of every Traveller in the Levant. (Strabo, Book xvi. " Syria.") 



civil. 317 
Before concluding these excursive notices of the 
condition of the Holy Land, I cannot omit to remark 
with what peculiar vividness the facts, the imagery, 
and the allusions of the Sacred Writings affect the 
mind, on surveying the present living scenes of this 
country. Whether it arise from the growing habit 
of exploring and noting every Scriptural Illustration; 
and that practice rendered more alert by the con- 
sciousness, that every step here is, in a manner, upon 
holy ground — or whether it be that Palestine does 
really still exhibit a striking, though faded likeness 
of her former self — certainly I felt, in common with 
many who have gone before me, that, independently 
of its spiritual use, the Bible was my most interest- 
ing travelling-companion. Egypt formerly had ex- 
cited in me much of this feeling: but Palestine 
seemed like the Bible laid open, and commented 
upon leaf by leaf. In fact, the mind is sometimes 
drawn aside so far by these graphic musings, that 
there is some risk of studying the Sacred Volume in 
the spirit of mere mental gratification. How often 
have I found it to be the case, that when my object 
was to read for edification, the thoughts have been 
imperceptibly beguiled into a series of pleasing criti- 
cal reflections ; till, at length, conscience has almost 
suffered a syncope, and the better purpose has been 
for a while forgotten. Few studious persons, per- 
haps, will find their devotional hours wholly inno- 
cent in this respect : but they, probably, will be 
most prone to this kind of aberration, who have per- 
sonally, with their eyes, beheld the actual scenes 
described in Scripture — a sight truly enviable, but 
one which bequeaths to the imagination a snare, as 
well as a charm. 



318 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS STATE 

OF 

SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 



One of the beautiful Parables of our Saviour, re- 
corded by the Evangelist St. Matthew, so aptly 
describes that intermingling of error and iniquity 
which was soon to follow after the promulgation of 
the Gospel, that it will very properly introduce the 
remarks which are to be offered concerning the 
moral and religious state of the Holy Land. 

Another parable put he forth unto them ; saying, 
The King dom of Heaven is likened unto a man which 
sowed good seed in his field : but, while men slept, 
his enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat, and 
went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, 
and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 
So the servants of the householder came, and said unto 
him, Sir, didst thou not sotv good seed in thy field ? 
from whence then hath it tares ? He said unto them, 
An enemy hath done this. (Matt. xiii. 24 — 28.) 

These words were spoken by Christ to the multi- 
tudes who pressed to hear Him discourse from the 
ship, on the margin of the Lake of Tiberias. They 
describe, among other countries, that very region 
which first was blessed with His doctrine — the first 
field sowed with good seed. They further represent 
the introduction of abounding errors and iniquities. 
Our great enemy, the Devil, by false doctrines, was 
to corrupt the profession of Christianity, and to fill 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS. 319 

society with his delusions ; and this effect would be 
so visible to the true servants of Christ, that they 
would come to Him complaining, and surprised at 
the melancholy condition of His Church. 

In Galilee (where this Parable was uttered by our 
Lord), in Samaria, in Judea, in Syria, and in all the 
neighbouring regions, this effect has taken place; 
and that to a degree so excessive, that, while the 
tares of false religion and bad morals have every- 
where overrun the soil, it has become, in the present 
day, very difficult to discover, with certainty, where 
are the blades of wheat which have sprung from 
good seed. 

The Introductory Chapter of this Volume has 
minutely depicted the various forms of religious 
opinion, which exist in these countries : no one, who 
intelligently surveys this mass of error sown in 
Western Asia, can refrain from acknowledging, An 
enemy hath done this! It would be superfluous, 
therefore, to dwell on this subject, any further than 
to point out, in a distinct manner, some of the lead- 
ing circumstances which conduce to the fixing and 
perpetuating of this state of things. 

1. It is worthy of observation, in the first place, 

that THE RELIGIOUS OPINIONS OF THE VARIOUS 
BODIES OF MEN IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE, ARE, FOR 
THE MOST PART, INTIMATELY INTERWOVEN WITH 
THEIR POLITICAL FEELINGS AND THEIR EXTERNAL 
HABITS. 

There are four principal bodies, which may be 
viewed as pointedly illustrating this remark. The 
jews, residing in the Holy Land, cherish constantly 
the feeling of an ancient, hereditary and indefeasible 
claim to the possession of the soil. The mahome- 



320 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

dans, actual possessors of the country, in no case 
recognise a separation of the civil from the religious 
right of dominion : the sword propagates and main- 
tains their creed, and their creed perpetuates this 
office of the sword ; and thus have the sword and 
the creed mutually sustained, for more than a thou- 
sand years, both in theory and in fact, their original 
fellowship. The christians — whether we regard 
them as inheriting the intolerant principles of the 
lower era of the Greek Empire, or as being in each 
successive age contaminated with those of the poli- 
tico-hierarchical system of Papal Rome, have no 
clear conception of the Kingdom of Christ, as being 
not of this world. As to the fourth remaining prin- 
cipal body, the druses, probably their national 
existence is owing to their detached and mystic 
doctrines. The minor bodies are, perhaps, not less 
upheld in their separate form by the peculiar reli- 
gious tenets of each. There is no notion, however 
frivolous and absurd, which is not sufficient to hold 
one body of men in separation from others ; and 
that notion, once established and recognised, be- 
comes the bond of compact and attachment among 
the members of a body thus self-erected. 

Nor is it a mere variety of abstract opinion which 
exists in Syria, marked in the differences of their 
Creeds and Civil Institutions : they have their out- 
ward and visible signs of distinction, by which the 
eye of the most illiterate man is practised in separa- 
tism, and kept ever on the alert, to discern who 
are for, and who against, his Sect. The different 
bodies of men have not only their different Creeds 
and different Books, but they have their dif- 
ferent Dresses, in various costume from head to 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS. 321 

foot — their different Quarters, in the city, in the 
country, in the mountains — their different Chieftains, 
friends, and partisans, in the Court and on their 
journeys: they have their differing usages, attitudes, 
and phrases — every thing external, as well as inter- 
nal, to distinguish them. Civil, and domestic, and 
hereditary animosities being, in many instances, 
grafted upon their religious opinions, these opinions 
have all the warmth of secular interests to uphold 
and animate them. To move into a new religious 
path, would be to break the bonds of society. Bi- 
gotted attachment to his own religion is the general 
feeling of every man : to choose a new course of 
religious opinions, on conviction of their truth, is 
almost unknown. To step from one party to another 
(I speak now of the above-mentioned four principal 
bodies, not of all their sub- divisions) would be no- 
thing less than to forsake father, and mother, and 
brother, and sister, and house, and lands ; and, in 
very many cases, life also. Such is the resolute 
distinctness maintained by these various bodies ! — 
each exclusive, intolerant, compact, self-attached ; 
each generally reserved, uncommunicative, and jea- 
lous ; each ready to resent, with the loftiest scorn, 
the idea of becoming proselyte to another. In this 
respect — in the intensity of all the passions ema- 
nating from heresy and schism — how far worse is the 
divided state of these Communities, than that of the 
many Religious Sects in our enlightened country — 
Sects, which have been wont to look, indeed, with a 
most invidious jealousy on one another ; but which 
are learning, and will yet more frankly learn, how 
much there is of estimable character in each other 
— how much of infirmity in human judgment — and 

Y 



322 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

how practicable it is for humble and sincere men to 
agree, and to co-operate in measures of prime utility, 
while differing in minor points. 

2. But it is not merely in the leading' branches of 
Religious Profession that the different bodies are 
disunited: the respective religions (those three, 
more especially, with which Europeans are most 
conversant, the Jews, the Christians, and the Maho- 
medans) have each of them their subdivisions; 

TURNING UPON A MOST ESSENTIAL PARTICULAR. 

" All the Religions," says the acute Leslie*, 
" and all the Sects in the world, are built upon the 
dispute betwixt these two — whether men are to go- 
vern themselves by their own private judgment, or 
to be determined by the authority of others, in their 
faith or religion/' Thus, among the Jews, a principal 
part are attached to the Talmudical System, and are 
the obsequious slaves of those Rabbies who are con- 
sidered as the greatest adepts in ancient interpreta- 
tions ; while the Karaites are free to follow the 
simple text of the Hebrew Scriptures. Among Chris- 
tians, a large number are under the yoke of a cer- 
tain undefined, yet very oppressive influence; some- 
times bending beneath the w eight of the voluminous 
writings of the Fathers or the authority of the Gene- 
ral Councils ; at others, crouching- to the assumed 
infallibility of the Papal Hierarchy : while the Pro- 
testants, few in number, uphold the right and duty 
of every man to search the Scriptures for himself. 
Between the two principal Sects of Mahomedans, a 
somewhat similar distinction subsists. Thus, in no 
one of these nominal bodies is there unity — no one 



* See Leslie's Dissertation concerning Private Judgment and 
Authority. Section I. 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS. 323 

profession seems to stand for all of its own kind. 
No sooner are the principal sections of society de- 
scribed, but there must be drawn, in each, a broad 
line of sub-demarcation. 

3. The principal religious characteristic, however, 
of Syria and the Holy Land, common to all its pro- 
fessions and sects, at once the child and the parent 
of unvarying ignorance, is that system of distinc- 
tion BETWEEN PRIESTHOOD AND LAITV, felt even 

where not avowed ; according to which it seems to 
be the interest of a few professed teachers to hold 
the rest of their fellow-creatures in darkness. 

Knowledge, in reference to many subjects, is 
inevitably the property of a few, in comparison with 
the bulk of mankind : but religious knowledge is the 
common property of all ; and the very scope of the 
appointment of Teachers in the Christian Religion 
is, that all may alike become well learned in the 
Oracles of Truth — thoroughly furnished unto all good 
works — truly wise unto salvation. From this equi- 
table line, how widely have men of every clime and 
every creed deviated ; till priestcraft has become a 
term of popular reproach, from which even the 
purest, the most disinterested and enlightened per- 
sons of the Sacred Order, cannot always find, in the 
public opinion, candour sufficient to acquit them ! 

But see with what an oppressive influence this 
distinction operates in Syria ! How far is the inter- 
val by which the professors of each set of dogmas 
distance the illiterate ! Hence, the high-minded 
Pharisee, the Hebrew of the Hebrews, closing the 
door of knowledge to the " accursed people* '." Hence, 

* This people who hnoweth not the law are cursed (John vii. 49.) 
The root of the original Oriental word has a twofold sense, implying 

Y 2 both 



32 t STATE OF SYRIA AND I HE HOLY LAND. 

the Akals, and the Djahelin — initiated and uniniti- 
ated among' the Druses. Hence the Ulemas, with 
the Koran in their hand, giving them civil as well as 
religious prerogative over the Fellah that trembles at 
their nod. Hence the Confessor, with a power little 
short of inquisitorial, although dependent on popular 
opinion — a sentiment, however, so inwrought into 
the habits and feelings of professing Christians in 
these countries, that the crouching penitent no more 
dares to canvass this authority of a fellow-man, 
which besets him so closely, so visibly, so tangibly, 
so oppressively, than he would dare to question the 
existence or the government of God Himself. When 
it is considered, that, even in the most enlightened 
society, few rise into action higher than the ordinary 
level of custom — few, very few, in reality, practi- 
cally deciding for themselves ; that is, freely and 
wisely — it must be painfully evident, that, in a 
country like Palestine, where the means of know- 
ledge are so scanty, and the encouragements to im- 
provement less than nothing, he must be indeed an 
extraordinary character, who should exert, on ra- 
tional principles, his liberty to choose in Religion for 
himself. He must have emancipated his mind from 
inveterate habits : he must have cast hereditary no- 
tions into the grave of his ancestors : he will be doing 
a kind of sacred violence to the public feeling; and 

both prohibition and curse; and thus it is used in Syria at this day. 
The two words are in fact correlative — prohibitory law, supported 
by penal sanctions We would gladly, therefore, soften down this 
expression to — " the prohibited people." But when we observe the 
"incredible freedom and fury with which so many Sanhedrims and 
Councils have thundered out the awful word " anathema," I fear we 
must allow to this passage in St. John's Gospel, all its apparent bit- 
terness and profaneness. 



MORAL AND RE L I G I G U S . 325 

he may reckon upon the certain indignation and 
opposition of a small but energetic Aristocracy, 
with whom alone has rested, hitherto, the preroga- 
tive of thinking both for themselves and for others. 

It might be supposed that the existence of Sacred 
Books among the different bodies would furnish 
facilities for exploring where lie the errors of the 
various Religious Systems ; and that appeal to such 
Books, consequently, would lead, in some measure, 
to the discovery of truth. There is, no doubt, some 
weight in this consideration. An Authorised Book 
is, at all times, a standard for investigation. Most 
of the people of Palestine have such books, by them 
accounted sacred : such are the Pentateuch — the 
Hebrew Scriptures— the whole of the Old and New 
Testaments — the Koran — and the supposed Books 
of the Druses*. But, in Syria, what is the amount 
of this remark — that " Truth lies in Books?" How 
many are the copies of these books, and in whose 
possession do they rest? Where either copies of 
these books are scarce, or the art of reading not 
general, or the reading of these books prohibited, 
what can it avail to the benefit of the population at 
large, to be persuaded, 

That truth lies somewhere, if we knew but where — ?f 
Of Books it may truly be said, that, to an unedu- 
cated country, they are, in all respects, the converse 
of that which they are in an enlightened nation. 
Where all can read, and all are free to read, Books 
seem almost to form an integral part of the com- 
munity : they affect the public mind : they supply 

* Perhaps we might add the Acts of a very few of the Christian 
Councils. 

t Cowper's " Hope." 



#526 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

materials of friendly conversation : they speak, and 
take part in the dialogue : they challenge trial at 
the bar of general opinion : they live, and act ; and 
are not forgotten, if their services have stood the 
test of experience, and proved beneficial to society : 
they travel to far distant countries : they multiply 
their own species, and become an immense and in- 
fluential family — as it were a world of separate, but 
not absent spirits'; fit associates for those intellec- 
tual men who entertain and cherish their company. 
All this, and more, might be affirmed of the wondrous 
art of communicating and perpetuating our ideas, by 
means of writing and printing. But, in an ignorant 
land, all this is not. The copious materials of hi- 
storical fact, of logical argument, of moral or religious 
sentiment, which have been from time to time com- 
mitted to paper, are negligently kept, and often con- 
signed to oblivion. Study, in such a land as Turkey, 
seems like an unprofitable idleness — a library, waste 
of money, or a dangerous indication of superfluous 
wealth. On religious subjects, especially, the Sacred 
Books are claimed as the exclusive property of the 
Sacred Order: their possession of these documents, 
while it diminishes the mental power of their spiritual 
subjects, adds a mysterious eminence to their own 
dignity. Well aware of that popular frailty which 
leads men gratuitously to admire and magnify every 
object that lies beyond the reach of general exami- 
nation, it becomes their interest to keep fairly out of 
sight the Standard Records of their Religion : while 
the mass of the community — in religious matters, 
ever more credulous than inquiring ; more prone to 
believe the veriest trifle, than to examine the grounds 
of faith — hear, with complacency, that their Religion 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS. 327 

is written in venerable and ancient records, known 
to a few. Thus it is, that almost every man in Syria 
has his passions, in reality, still more firmly rivetted 
to his respective religious system, by the persuasion 
that it has been settled and drawn up in a dogmati- 
cal form — ready to convince him, if sceptical; or to 
overwhelm him, if schismatically disposed. He, 
therefore, neither doubts, nor differs, nor even in- 
quires. If he cannot quote the contents of his 
Sacred Volume, he yet remains attached to the 
abstract idea of its existence ; bowing to his religious 
Superior, as the legitimate master of his mind and of 
his conscience. 

The enfeebling influence of this spiritual degra- 
dation of the mass of society is so manifest, that it 
is impossible for an intelligent person to have much 
to do with the natives of these countries, without 
perceiving, what appears to be sometimes a most 
perverse obliquity, at other times an unaccountable 
deficiency, of judgment. Their natural powers of 
forming an opinion have plainly been either distorted 
or depressed ; rather, we may say, both. It is sur- 
prising to see with what indifference they entertain 
a serious argument : they regard it as a thing out of 
their province. They have no notion of one conti- 
nued line of reasoning. The most frivolous reasons 
make an impression on their minds, when supported 
by the authority of a name ; while the most self- 
evident and important truths seem to have no weight, 
when the appeal is made to the conviction of their 
own conscience. Occasionally biassed by some 
unknown motive, they appear for a while ardently to 
espouse the cause of truth : but soon they relapse 
into some gross absurdity ; and exhibit an inconsist- 



o2B STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

ency with themselves, of which they appear neither 
ashamed, nor even conscious. It seems with them 
to be no great objection to a new opinion, that it is 
contradictory to one which previously they had 
maintained with ardour. 

That persons grown up to manhood should thus 
remain, with reference to religious subjects, in the 
infancy of understanding, is an indication that they 
have but little feeling of moral responsibility. How 
defective is their moral sense! The love of truth 
cannot, in fact, be regarded as characteristic of the 
people of these countries. In all transactions, it is 
requisite to engage their interest, as the surest, often 
the only, guarantee to their keeping their word. 
Neither is there any thing in the Institutions of the 
different Governments, which might serve as an ef- 
fectual counterpoise to this spirit of bad faith. Jus- 
tice may casually be obtained, and true evidence 
may sometimes be had ; but it is best not to hazard 
the experiment of seeking either. 

Where freedom of thought and principles of integrity 
are rare, little of the ardour of enterprise, and less of 
the spirit of disinterested love to man, can be expect- 
ed. To professing Christians in Syria, it is difficult to 
convey an idea of the principle of Protestant Mis- 
sions : they seem to regard our projects as the 
schemes of a party ; and never to have learned the 
signification of those words, We seek not yours, but 
you. All, that they have formerly seen of Frank 
Missionaries, must have prepared them to look with 
jealousy on the entrance of Protestants ; nor can 
Protestants ever succeed among them, but by main- 
taining entire purity of motive and consistency of 
conduct. By upholding the sacred duty of aiming 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS. 329 

at the conversion of all who are not Christians, and 
by manifesting a spirit willing to suffer for the cause 
of Christ, the Missionaries of the West may expect 
to be the means, both of evangelizing the ?uncon- 
verted, and of restoring the fallen] and decayed 
Christian Churches to primitive purity in doctrine 
and practice. 

But it is time to draw a veil over this dark picture. 
One prominent object only shall be briefly noticed. 
Deserted as this land now is — without prosperous 
Agriculture or Commerce, and with little of Learn- 
ing or Piety — it still maintains its hold on the feelings 
of a large portion of mankind, as containing within 
its boundaries that city, to which the professors of 
the three most celebrated Religions have been ac- 
customed to look with irresistible religious recollec- 
tions. The Shechinah, the Holy Sepulchre, and the 
Mosque of the second Caliph, have attracted, re- 
spectively, the almost-adoring eyes of the Jew, the 
Christian, and the Mahomedan. To all of them, 
Jerusalem is as a prize ! — so strong is the influence 
of that name, holding entire nations, for more than 
a thousand years, under its magic spell ! Yet if — 
as it fitly may — Jerusalem be viewed as representing 
in epitome the religious state of that country, in 
which it still seems to bear the character of a metro- 
polis, hardly could there be found a truer emblem 
of the condition of Palestine. Thou sealest up the 
sum; full of spiritual folly, and perfect in wretched- 
ness*. In no place which he has visited, did the 
Author ever feel, so nearly touching him as in Jeru- 
salem, the corruption, the peril, and the wretched- 



* See Ezek. xxviii. 1 2, 



330 STATE OV SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

ness, which seem to infect every thing dependent on 
Turkish Government : in other principal cities of 
the Levant, there is a more sensible feeling of pro- 
tection, both from the habits of the natives and from 
the presence of European Residents ; but, here, 
almost none. Here, therefore, that anxiety, which 
is suffered by all unprotected subjects of the Porte, 
was rendered more visible to European eyes. We 
lived in the midst of it, and were daily conversant 
with its influence. All, whenever in memory I reflect 
upon it, seems like a vision of sorrow, destitute of 
relief — the Turkish Government, grinding the faees 
of the poor — the subjects pining, yet split into im- 
placable hostile parties — the Jews, ever the first to 
suffer, lingering out their days in a kind of living 
death ; apparently hoping, yet manifesting none of 
the delight and energy inspired by the genuine taste 
of hope — the Christians, professing the most benign 
religion, yet exhibiting none of that spirit by which 
all men are to recognise the disciples of Christ — in- 
numerable sanctuaries, and shrines, and venerated 
places, and crowds of devotees making many 
prayers ; yet all beneath the frown of a jealous God, 
who looks with favour neither on the Jew, nor on 
the Mussulman, nor on those who bear the name, 
and the name only of the Blessed Redeemer ! The 
stern rebuke, perhaps also the tender expostulation, 
of the Prophet, may still be conceived thrilling 
through the streets of this doomed city — Woe unto 
thee, Jerusalem! ivilt thou not be made clean? When 
shall it once be ? 

Whether the system of making a Pilgrimage to the 
Holy City has a tendency to promote genuine devo- 
tion, may safely be left to be tried, on the following 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS. 331 

considerations. He who leaves his quiet home and 
regular employments for this errand, the nearer he 
approaches to the Holy City, the greater will be the 
crowd in which he will find himself. His voyage 
probably will be in a small vessel, with a great num- 
ber of fellow-passengers ; many of whom, such is the 
lamentable superstition of multitudes in these coun- 
tries, will think it sinful to eat meat, but no sin to be- 
come intoxicated with wine or brandy, two or three 
days of the week, being fast-days. At every stage he 
is liable to be thrown into such company. At Jerusa- 
lem, whether retiring to his Convent, or visiting the 
Holy Sepulchre, or going his rounds with other de- 
votees to visit sacred spots, he is almost always in a 
crowd. A fervour of the spirits may, not unfre- 
quently, be excited, by persons feeling themselves 
surrounded by a throng, who pray aloud, beat their 
breasts, weep bitterly, and strike the ground with 
their foreheads ; but on a subsequent occasion, when 
some festival sets them for a short space at liberty 
from the rigour of a long penance, they rush with 
no less eagerness into excess of riot. They consider 
it to be doing honour to a Saint's-Day, to feast luxu- 
riously, so far as their means permit. The Convents, 
at these times, are crowded : in the room which I 
occupied alone, about ten feet square, pilgrims as 
many as ten would be accommodated, when the 
season was full : others sleep at the door, on the 
terraces, or at the Church-porch. Let any reflect- 
ing Christian say, whether such circumstances are 
calculated to cherish or to extinguish the spirit of 
devotion ; or whether the devotees are likely to be 
heard and accepted for their much speaking, or their 
innumerable bowings and prostrations. And what, 



332 STATE OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. 

alas ! remains to the Pilgrim, after he has spent him- 
self in this way, for weeks and months ? — a casket 
of beads ! — some ornamented wax-candles ; one, 
especially, which has been lighted at the Holy Fire ! 
— and a Paper*, signed by the proper Ecclesiastical 
Authorities, certifying that he has visited all the 
Holy Places ; and that, in brief, he has, by his pil- 
grimage, done God service, acquired merit, and 
procured the pardon of his sins, through the interces- 
sion of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints ! Millions 
have come from far, to drink of this poisoned foun- 
tain, which they have mistaken for the Water of 
Life! 



* See Christian Researches in the Mediterranean, pp. 25, 26, 



OF 

THE FORMER STATE 

OF 

RELIGION AND OF MISSIONS 

IN THE 

MEDITERRANEAN LEVANT: 

WITH 

Brnurfta anti Suggestions 

RELATIVE TO 

FUTURE MEASURES. 



335 



WORK OF AN EVANGELIST, 

AND 

EDUCATION OF NATIVES. 



In entering on those Remarks and Suggestions, 
which arise from studying — either through the me- 
dium of books, or by actual observation, or by the 
help of both — the religious condition of the Levant, 
the first place is naturally given to duties of prime 
utility. 

It is not, however, designed, under the twofold 
title of this Chapter, to introduce any thing like a 
regular treatise on the interesting subjects therein 
specified. Many valuable works already exist, and 
many most appropriate addresses are continually 
presented to Missionaries, on these topics : it would 
be both superfluous and presumptuous, therefore, 
for the Author to pretend to any thing either novel or 
peculiarly instructive on these subjects in general. 

Neither is it his intention, by placing together the 
Work of an Evangelist and the Education of Na- 
tives, to intimate that there is any parity between 
the two, in respect of their importance. The first 
is a great, comprehensive, Scriptural Work ; having 
all nations, all ages, all modes of wise and practical 
operation, within its scope— Education is a branch 
of useful service, intended almost exclusively for the 
benefit of the young, and not necessarily to engage 
the time and strength of the Evangelist ; who has to 



336 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

study, preach, instruct, converse, correspond, tra- 
vel ; and, in these various successive engagements, 
he may rightly feel that he is performing one com- 
plete, individual work: but he, who undertakes to 
educate, must, to answer reasonable expectations, 
give himself almost entirely to this employment; 
attached to one place, to one object, and to one 
class of his fellow -creatures. In a certain degree, 
however, Missionaries have generally united both 
these engagements ; or, to speak more correctly, 
they have, while aiming to perform the work of an 
Evangelist, taken up, in a subordinate measure, and 
for a season, the particular branch of Educating 
the Young. Without further noticing their dispa- 
rity, this circumstance alone might justify their 
being placed together in the following remarks. 



NOTICES OF PAST MEASURES. 

It is, however, principally on another account, 
that the two subjects have been thus blended in one 
title. In following up the plan w T hich the Author 
proposed to himself, of exhibiting fully what Mis- 
sionary Exertions have formerly been made in Syria 
and Palestine, and thus introducing his suggestions 
relative to future measures, he soon found, that, in 
the materials collected by him, the two subjects of 
Evangelizing and Educating are so generally inter- 
woven together, that it would answer no good 
practical end to attempt to separate them. The 
Romish Missions in the Levant have long been an 
interesting object of observation: although not to 
be approved for their fundamental principles, there 
is yet much to be learned from the consistency, per- 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 337 

severance, and energy of the measures pursued*. 
The Author is persuaded that every Protestant will 
feel gratified and instructed, by many passages in 
the following extracts ; by others, stimulated ; and, 
by some, warned to avoid erroneous and established 
in his judgment of right principles. Under this 
conviction, he will proceed to make selections from 
two Documents, which will mutually illustrate each 
other; the one defining the principles, the other 
exhibiting the practice, of the Roman-Catholic Mis- 
sions in Syria and Palestine. From these retro- 
spective sketches, the Reader will naturally be led 
to the Suggestions which conclude the Chapter. 

The first Document is to be found in a work 
printed at Rome, under the following title ; — Syno- 
dus Provincialis a Reverendissimo Domino D. Pa- 
triarcha Antiocheno, Archiepiscopis et Episcopis, 
necnon Clero secidari et regulari Nationis Syrorum 
Maronitarum, una cum Reverendissimo Domino Jo- 
sephoSimonio Assemanno, Sedis Apostolicce Ablegato, 

* It would have been most gratifying to be able to state, that, 
in these later ages, there had been Missions for the purpose of pro- 
pagating the Gospel, sent forth by the Greek, the Armenian, Syrian, 
Coptic, and other Oriental Churches. It is true that the errors of 
those Churches are not what we should wish to see propagated ; but 
had they been imbued with the Missionary Spirit, there is reason to 
think that they might have been rendered the instruments of diffusing 
Scriptural Light among other nations ; and thus of purifying them- 
selves from their errors. But the abject slavery and extreme po- 
verty of some of them, the gross ignorance and almost barbarous 
condition of others, and, above all, the want of a liberal and intel- 
ligent and ardent spirit of piety in most of them, will serve to ac- 
count for their not being characterized by Missionary Enterprise. 
Their Ecclesiastics, indeed, are not unfrequently moving to and fro, 
in the various regions between Constantinople and Calcutta; but 
their objects, so far as the Author has been able to gather, cannot, 
in the least degree, be identified with the work of preaching the 
Gospel to unevangelized people. 

Z 



338 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

in Monte Libano celebrata, anno 173G diebus 30 Sep- 
tembris, prima et secunda Octobris, Clemente XII. 
Pontifice Maximo. This work, a small quarto 
volume, was printed at Rome 1820 ; by a special 
Order of the Propaganda, dated September 13, 
1819, stating that only one Latin Copy existed at 
Rome*. 

The Decrees of this Council are divided into 
four Parts. The Sixth Chapter of the Fourth Part 

is entitled, De Scholis et Liter arum Studiis de 

Seminariis. This gives a historical view of the sub- 
ject of Education in the East ; together with a 
particular account of three more recent Institutions 
for learning, in and near Mount Lebanon. It seems 
to me probable that the whole of this Treatise was 
drawn up by Assemann himself : both from the cir- 
cumstance of his having been the Pope's Legate to 
the Council ; and, still more, from the close resem- 
blance which it bears to some parts of his JBiblio- 
theca Orientalis. (See especially Vol. iii. Part 2. 
chapter 15. which treats of the same subject, and 
contains many parallel passages, verbatim.) 

In the Appendix to these Decrees (Article 42), 
are given the Rules of the College established in 
Mount Lebanon, entitled, Regulce Seminarii erecti 
in Monte Libano ab TJrbano P. P. VIII. dat. die 
30 Jidii, Anno 1625. After several preliminary 
Regulations, a series of Rules is given under three 
divisions or chapters : and here the title is altered 
to Regidce Collegii Missionis Maronitarum in Syria. 



* The Maionite Vice- Patriarch, Mar Hanna Maroni, informed 
the Author that they have a Copy, in Arabic, among the Archives of 
the Maronite Church. 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 839 

These two parts of this work will furnish a view 
of the Objects of Romish Missionaries in Mount 
Lebanon, and of their System of Education. The 
extracts which are here given have been in some 
parts abridged. 

The following series relates to the subject of 
Missions. 

On the Design of the Institution. — Let all those, who are 
to be trained according to this Institution to cultivate the 
vineyard of the Lord, know, that there are four principal 
parts of their office : namely, To instil into youth and other 
persons the precepts of Christian Doctrine ; to instruct the 
Clergy, or those designed for the Clerical State, in the Sy- 
riac and Arabic Grammar; to preach the Word of God; 
and, finally, to hear Sacramental Confessions. But, above 
all, to win souls, is the main object which they must in all 
things set before themselves. 

On the care of their own Souls. — It is necessary, that they, 
who are chosen to the office of the Apostolic Mission, 
should be imbued with the manners and discipline of the 
Apostles. On no account conferring, therefore, with flesh 
and blood, let them regard no place on earth as their coun- 
try, all of us being exiles : as the Apostle says, For we have 
here no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Let them, no 
where, engage in public or private worldly business : let not 
pious hearts be defiled with earthly dust. Let them not sup- 
pose that gain is godliness : let them be as far as possible 
removed from filthy lucre. Utterly denying all worldly lusts, 
let them live soberly, righteously, and godly ; so studying the 
salvation of others, as not to neglect their own : revolving in 
their mind that question of our Lord — What shall it profit a 
man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 
And let each one consider those words of St. Paul as spoken 
to himself — Take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine : conti- 
nue in them ; for, in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and 
them that hear thee. 

Z 2 



340 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

On the special care of Chastity. — It is the duty of Mis- 
sionaries to avoid, in every way, all offending of the peo- 
ple ; so that the good savour of Christ may be in every 
place. Let them remember, therefore, that they dwell in the 
midst of a suspicious nation [Turkey in Asia], and that there 
is nothing more exposed to accusations and calumnies than the 
virtue of the Clergy. Let them reflect, therefore, and seri- 
ously consider, that, before God, it may be made a matter 
of blame, not only if they commit an act inconsistent with 
their vow of perfect purity ; but even if they do not conduct 
themselves in a cautious and studiously modest manner, so as 
utterly to avoid the smallest unfavourable suspicion. Let 
them aim, therefore, at sustaining such gravity and modesty, 
that, by the sight of their spotless conversation among the 
nations, he, who is of the contrary part, may be ashamed, 
having no evil thing to speak concerning them. 

Of Spiritual Exercises. — Since neither he that planteth is 
any thing, nor he that watereth, but God who giveth 
the increase, it is necessary that the Missionaries seek to 
obtain from Him, both the Spirit of Apostolical Labourers, and 
likewise the good success of their labours. Let them, there- 
fore, always walk before Him. To Him let them frequently 
lift up their hearts. Especially, once in the year, let them, 
for the space of several days, withdraw themselves from every 
other business*; and give themselves to spiritual exercises, 
exclusively occupied in the contemplation of things heavenly. 
If not at too great a distance, they are to observe this sacred 
leisure in the nearest Monasteries of their Residence, those 



* This is a very interesting practice, provided for by the Church 
of Rome. Persons would thus retire from worldly cares for ten, 
fifteen, or twenty days, or longer ; paying a sum of money suffi- 
cient for their maintenance to the Guardian of a Monastery. An 
establishment of this nature existed in former times in Malta, at the 
south-west part of Florian : the building still remains. It is thus 
described in the work entitled, Malta Illustrata, Lib. III. p. 335 : 
Chiesa delta Madonna di Manresa, col casamento, che contiene molte 
stanze, per divoto ritiramento di quei che vi volessero fare gli esercizj 
tpirituali. 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 341 

especially pertaining to the Congregation of Mount Lebanon. 
In the year of their electing the Prefect, let them come together 
into one place, and let these spiritual exercises precede their 
election. And that they may continually grow in the Spirit, 
let them, twice at least daily, be occupied in mental prayer 
and in the reading of holy books. 

On avoiding the Courts of Princes, and all hindrances of 
Missions. — Let neither the Prefect, nor any one of the 
Associated [aliquis Sociorum~], suffer himself, under any 
pretext whatever, to be induced to reside in the Courts of 
Princes, whether Ecclesiastical or Lay: neither let them 
suffer themselves to be bound, by any condition, to be in 
subservience to them or in attendance upon them ; recollect- 
ing that saying of the Apostles — It is not reason that we should 
leave the Word of God, and serve tables. 

On the partition of the Provinces. — It shall pertain to the 
Prefect to assign to the Missionaries their Province re- 
spectively, reserving to himself one for his own culture. 

On their stay in single places. — And whereas the harvest 
truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few, the stay of 
a Missionary in one place shall never, except for weighty 
causes, be prolonged beyond the space of three years : 
at the expiration of such three years, therefore, he shall 
be ordered by the Prefect to proceed to cultivate, in like 
manner, the other regions of his assigned Province, The 
Prefect is to consider himself, also, comprehended in this rule ; 
and to migrate to some other place, at the expiration of his 
triennial residence. In the execution of this plan, the more 
populous are to be preferred to the less populous districts ; 
unless the situation of a village or hamlet ;be such, that he 
judges there will be an easier access, and consequently a 
greater concourse to the Mission from villages in the neigh- 
bourhood. 

The Method of Culture in the Provinces. — That the La- 
bourers may best promote the end of this Sacred Institution, 
let them so divide the Offices of their Ministry, as to 
have a School constantly open ; or let them take care that 
such open School be kept by others, themselves presiding 



342 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS, 
over it. Let them publickly expound the Catechism * or the 
Christian Doctrine especially on Festivals, in the Church 
or in the Oratory, during the hours of afternoon : for, in the 
Mass at the Parish Church, they are to deliver a Sermon to 
the people f . Let them, moreover, be so diligent in cultivat- 
ing the places of their Residence, as to be mindful to make 
excursions to the neighbouring villages and hamlets allotted 
to them. This service they are especially to perform on Fes- 
tivals ; and also at the four times of Solemn Fasting, when the 
Oriental Christians are wont to frequent the Sacraments of 
Confession and the Communion. In these holy seasons and 
circumstances, moreover, let them principally apply them- 
selves to these three things — First, in their public Sermons 
to treat of the above-mentioned Sacraments — Secondly, to 
take satisfactory measures with those, who, either from false 
shame or from quarrels with their Parish-Priests, for a long 
season put off Confession — Thirdly, to take away public 
scandals, and to compose the private dissensions of the inha- 
bitants with Christian Charity. Let them, however, regard 
the Instruction of Children as one of the first cares of their 
Mission. Let them have, therefore, in their Mission a School 
constantly open, (at least by deputy,) in which boys may be 
taught, after the common method, to read and write the 
Syriac and Arabic Languages t . 

* Probably the larger Volume, entitled " Catechismus Roma- 
nus," compiled, on the Model of the Acts of the Council of Trent, 
by a Commission which acted after the dissolution of that Council. 

§ A smaller Catechism, for the use of Children, translated into 
a great variety of languages, by the Missionaries and others of the 
Church of Rome. 

f The Mass is always performed before noon. The Sermon was, 
therefore, part of the Morning- Service : Catechizing was in the 
Afternoon- Service. Such is the Custom directed by the Church of 
England also. (Vide Rubric to the Catechism.) 

J The necessity, which existed for the Missionaries thus to in- 
terest themselves about Confessions, will appear from the following 
accounts given by themselves. 

" The Superior of the Mission at Aleppo reports as follows: — 

*' During the year 1714 there were made in the Mission of Aleppo 
nearly four hundred general Confessions. The necessity of these 

Confessions 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 343 
On exciting the minds of the Youths to Piety.— -Since the 
principal or rather the only scope of the Mission, is the 
increase of religion and piety, for the attainment of which 
the temper of Youth is best adapted, let it be an ob- 
ject of the greatest attention, never to separate the study of 
learning from the study of piety. Let the Labourers ap- 
point to themselves, therefore, a set time, daily, in which to 
give Christian Instruction to their disciples ; and let them not 
fail, by exhortation and conversation, to stimulate and allure 
them to devotion and the fear of God. They are to take 

Confessions arises from the usage customary with the Priests of the 
country, who, for the sake of despatch, and in order not to lose the 
fee of their penitents, content themselves with asking them if they are 
deeply grieved at having offended God. This demand being made, 
often without warring for the answer, without even knowing the dis- 
position of their penitents, they give them absolution. 

" We can count," adds another Father, in his Letter, " above three 
thousand Confessions more, which have been heard ; a hundred and 
thirty-eight persons who have abjured schism ; restitutions for very 
large sums; and seven or eight reconciliations among persons of high 
consideration. I omit various other good works, on which it is proper 
to be silent." (Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, Vol. I. p. 145.) 

The following additional testimony may be quoted from another of 
the Jesuit Missionaries, preceded by his lively description of the hard- 
ships which they often had to suffer in their circuits : — 

" Add to which, we have to endure the ardours of a burning sun in 
summer, or to walk upon the snows in winter, carrying upon our back 
our Chapel, that is to say, its Ornaments and every thing necessary for 
saying Mass ; having with us, moreover, our little provision of chap- 
lets, images, medicines, and other things needful for the period of the 
Mission. We march with this equipage, staff in hand, for whole days. 

" Arrived in a village where we have to perform our Mission, we 
begin without loss of time. We are always hailed with welcome ; 
having to treat with a people who are kind, docile, Catholic, lovers of 
prayer and of the Word of God. 

" The time of our Mission is passed in instructing, in praying, in 
assisting the sick, and in hearing Confessions, which usually are gene- 
ral Confessions. These are so much the more necessary, as the Cu- 
rates content themselves at the great Festivals with asking a crowd of 
Penitents, who present themselves before them, whether they are 
sorry for their sins ; and, on their simply declaring that they are so, 
without any further examination, their Curates give them absolution." 

{Id. Vol.1. pp } 251, 252.) 



341 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

care that they be daily present at Sacred Worship; arid, 
unless too young, that they approach every month the Sacra- 
ments of Penance and the Communion. And, the better to 
promote these ends, let them beware of the inveterate faults 
of Masters — anger, impatience, hastiness ; and that which 
springs from these, unadvised severity. Let them hear the 
Apostle inculcating the contrary — Be instant in season, out 
of season: reprove, rebuke, exhort ; with all long-suffering and 
doctrine. They will thus find the minds of their disciples 
more apt to receive the seeds of piety, and will also more 
strongly attach the affections and good-will of their parents. 

To give information of such as are fit for higher studies, 
and to appoint certain to he pupils in the College at Rome. 
— Should they discover any who are more apt at learn- 
ing, they are to have them instructed in the Rules of Syriac 
Grammar; and to be advanced to Logic, and to Moral 
Science, or Moral Theology. Mindful, also, of the advan- 
tage which they received in the College at Rome, let it be 
their care to discover among the Youths committed to them 
some of good disposition and quick talent, who, with appro- 
bation of their Superiors, may be in due time appointed 
to the Maronite College in Rome ; whom also they may in- 
struct in Latin. 

On the prudent Division of the Hours. — Since the right 
distribution of the hours tends both to prevent fatigue and 
also to promote health, let the Master follow, in this re- 
spect, the rule which he will remember to have been observed 
in the Schools at Rome. If, therefore, his School is to be 
divided into several classes, on account of the different de- 
grees of talent or the unequal proficiency of his Scholars, let 
him so divide his work, as to comprise the whole within three 
hours in the morning and three in the afternoon. The re- 
maining time he will see that the Scholars are occupied, each 
one by himself, in his own study ? 

On abstaining from Temporal Gain. — They, who have 
freely received, should freely give. Let them, therefore ? 
demand no reward from any one, for their ministrations. 
What is spontaneously offered, they may receive ; not, how- 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 345 
ever, estates or fields: and let them give most diligent 
heed, lest they should appear to be seeking their own, not 
the things of Jesus Christ, to the great injury of their own 
character, and the hindrance of the salvation of others. 

The Extracts which follow refer to the subject of 
Education in the Levant. The Reader will be par- 
ticularly struck with the caution given at the con- 
clusion. It directs the mind to a circumstance of 
no small importance ; for, while it discloses the 
anxiety with which Christian Families ought natu- 
rally to regard the situation of their children in the 
midst of Mahomedan Countries, it may likewise 
serve to elucidate the reason, why Christian Books 
in Arabic are not generally regarded by Mahome- 
dans as sufficiently elegant in their diction. Fearful 
lest the blandishments of a Mahomedan Style should 
operate to entice the youthful Christian Student to 
renounce his faith, Christian Writers in Syria appear 
to have confined themselves to a very narrow range 
of Arabic Literature. 

1. St. Jerome directs*, that the Student should first learn 
by heart the Psalter ; then advance to the Books of Solomon 
and Job; next to the Gospels, and then to the Acts and 
Epistles of the Apostles ; afterward to the Prophets and the 
Pentateuch ; then to the other Books of Scripture : which 
being thoroughly read, the Student may safely enter upon the 
Canticles f ; and, finally, turn over and become familiar with 
the Works of the Fathers. In the Statutes of Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, the younger Clergy are required to be taught, in the 
several Monasteries and Bishoprics, Grammar, the Psalter, 

* Epistola ad Lcetam, de Institutione Filice. — Few Mothers, natives 
of the Levant, or more probably none, receive, in the present day, 
such a sketch as this for the education of their Daughters ! 

\ This arrangement of the Books of Scripture for the purpose of 
study, seems, in some of its parts, to be any thing but judicious. 



316 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 
Singing, Arithmetic, and Orthography. In another Statute is 
added, also, the study of Medicine. In one Monastery, the 
Abbot is said to have taught letters and singing ; thence to 
have advanced to the other liberal arts, such as Grammar, 
Arithmetic, Logic, Astronomy, Music, Rhetoric, and Geo- 
metry. At the Academy at Beirout, in our own Phoenicia, 
Jurisprudence chiefly was studied; so that there was a great 
conflux, both of Scholars and Masters, from all the East, to 
this city. When, after the ruin of Constantinople, the Re- 
vival of Letters first took place in that city, there was a great 
demand from all quarters for the most able men to preside 
over Schools for Grammar, Poetry, Arithmetic, Music, Astro- 
nomy, Geometry, Philosophy, and J urisprudence. — Thus far 
concerning the line of studies anciently used by the Greeks 
and Latins. 

2. In Syria, next, the Clergy are required to be taught, 
first, Letters, Grammar, Singing, Scripture, the Commen- 
taries of the Fathers — next those of superior talent are 
taught from the books of the Philosophers, Rhetoric, Poetry, 
Logic, Philosophy, Mathematics, and Medicine. Such, 
after the fifth century of the Christian Era, was the custom 
in Syria and Mesopotamia, the liberal arts being already in 
a flourishing state; especially in the city Edessa and its 
neighbouring Monasteries, where the study of profane learn- 
ing was joined to that of sacred: nor was it permitted to 
follow the opinions, indifferently, of any Philosopher, but 
only of Aristotle, whose Philosophy and other Works were 
first cultivated by the Syrians, being translated from the 
Greek into the Syriac : they were then studied by the Arabs, 
after the eighth Century, they availing themselves of the help 
of Syrian interpreters ; as appears from the Annals both of 
the Syrians and the Arabs. Those, who were of slower ta- 
lent, were directed to despatch their studies in three years ; 
learning, first, after they had gone through the rules of Gram- 
mar cursorily, the Psalms and Hymns used in Divine Service 
and in the Mass ; then the New Testament ; and, lastly, the 
appointed Lessons out of the Old Testament, which are read 
in the Church on the Sundays and Festivals : after which 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 847 

they were permitted to depart, and learn such trades as they 
chose*. 

3. We, therefore, having attentively considered the pecu- 
liarities of times and places, direct that the Masters for this 
purpose — whom we desire to be chosen by the Bishops, or 
Prefects of the Monasteries — do observe the usual method, 
teaching the Youths in the Schools first to read and write in 
Syriac and Arabic : that they then cause them to read the 
Psalter, the Book for Deacons, the Offices of the Festivals, and 
the New Testament: afterward, should they find any to be 
peculiarly quick at learning, let them instil into them the rules 
of Syriac and Arabic Grammar : let them next teach them 
the mode of Singing and of Ecclesiastical Calculation ; next 
the sublimer sciences, as Rhetoric and Poetry, Philosophy, 
Geometry, Arithmetic, Astronomy, and other branches of 
Mathematics. Let them then lead them forward to the Insti- 
tutions of Canon Law ; to Biblical Exercitations : to Scho- 
lastic, Dogmatical, and Moral Theology ; and especially to 
those subjects which bear upon the due receiving and admi- 
nistering of the Sacraments, and the knowledge of the Forms 
of Rites and Ceremonies. Let them especially take care that 
they are daily present at the Sacrifice of the Mass, and at 
Divine Worship in the Quire morning and evening ; and that, 
every month, unless prevented by their tender age, they ap- 
proach the Sacraments of Penance and the Communion. Let 
the Masters also daily, or at least twice in the week, appoint 
a stated time, in which to deliver to their pupils Christian 
Lectures, expounding to them the Doctrine of Cardinal Ro- 
bert Bellarmine. 

In several following passages, the utility of the 

* At the present day, in the Eastern Churches, and even in some 
of the West, this kind of system may he observed. Young persons 
are taught, in the Ecclesiastical Schools, to perform the Ceremo- 
nials of Public Worship, and to learn Prayers, Psalms, and even 
large portions of the Scripture, with a book before them ; repeating, 
however, almost entirely memoriler. As they advance to manhood, 
occupied with worldly business, they lose the very little knowledge 
which they once obtained of the art of reading ; having, in fact, 
neither any motive to keep up their learning, nor any variety of books 
to assist them in so doing. 



348 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Monastic System is highly commended, especially 
in reference to the Education of the young of both 
sexes. Distinguished notice is taken of a Maronite 
College, founded in Rome by Gregory XIII.; and 
the extension of Education throughout the Maronite 
Patriarchate is recommended. Twelve Rules for 
the use of such Seminaries are given, from which 
we briefly extract the following : — 

The age of entrance, unless by special dispensation, to be 
not under twelve years ....The clerical dress to be constantly 
worne .... No pupil to sleep out of the Seminary .... The 
elder scholars to be kept separate from the younger ; and 
never for a moment to be out of sight of their Superiors, 
who are to watch over them with the vigilance of sentinels 
....A large lighted lamp is to hang, all night, in the room 
where they sleep.... The time of staying at the Seminary 
not to exceed six or seven years, except by special allowance 
of the Bishop or Abbot of the Monastery. 

Several Sections are then devoted to lauding the 
benevolence and piety of the persons who endowed 
the three under-mentioned Seminaries for Syria: the 
dates refer to the time of their founding, 

At Antoura in Kesrouan, February 27th, 1734. 

At Zogorta, near Tripoli, December 10th, 1735. 

In Cyprus (for the Maronites), August 15th, 1734. 

It is with the greatest grief that we have heard that some 
Christians, preferring things temporal to spiritual, do so far 
neglect the eternal salvation of their children, as to send them 
to infidel or heretical Masters, at the hazard of subverting 
their faith ; under the vain pretext, that they are not equally 
well instructed by the Orthodox Masters, especially in Arabic 
Grammar and Poetry. Desirous, therefore, to provide both 
for the safety of souls and for the advancement of letters and 
science, we command the professors of our Orthodox Faith, 
all and each of them, that they do not presume henceforth to 
send their children to be taught by Masters of another na- 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 349 
tion, under pain of excommunication to be inflicted by the 
Bishop ; subjecting to the same penalty those also, who, with 
or without the advice of their parents, shall go to the Schools 
of infidel or heretical Masters. For what communion hath 
Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with 
an Infidel ? Know ye not thai a little leaven leaveneth the whole 
lump? To cut off all occasion of evil, we command the Supe- 
riors and Preceptors of our Schools, not only in cities and 
villages, but also in the larger Monasteries, that they take 
care that the Institutions of the Arabic tongue be taught, as 
they were composed by Gabriel Faharat, Archbishop of 
Aleppo, of famous memory, while monk of the Order of St. 
Anthony of the Congregation of Mount Lebanon. Let them 
also cause their Scholars to read his poems, and his other 
smaller works both in prose and verse ; that they may imbibe 
piety, together with learning and the purity of the Arabic 
Tongue*. But books composed by heretics or infidels, how- 
ever distinguished by elegance or erudition, we forbid to be 
read, or expounded in the Schools, unless first purged of their 
errors, by order of the Bishop or his Vicar. 

The following Extracts are from a Work with 
which the Reader is by this time rendered very fami- 
liar, the Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses. They furnish 
an account of the manner in which the Jesuits gave 
effect to the measures of Urban VIII. Other Reli- 
gious Orders, especially the Franciscans, have long 
established themselves in Syria and the Holy Land| : 

* In the Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses (Vol. I. p. 162) mention 
is made of a work by Pere Arnoudie, concerning which it would be 
desirable to know more. It is there related, that he composed a 
very useful work in Arabic, on the Holy Scriptures ; contained in 
three folio volumes. 

•f It is a curious fact, that four most powerful and influential Reli- 
gious Orders of the Church of Rome were founded in the same 
century, and within less than fifty years. The Franciscans were 
established A.D. 1209; the Carmelites A.D. 1209 — 1217 ; the 
Dominicans A.D. 1216 ; and the Agustinians A.D. 1256. After 
nearly three centuries had elapsed, and the appearance of an ap- 
proaching general Reformation caused Rome to fear, the Order of 

the 



SoO NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

but it was the distinguishing feature of the Order of 
the Jesuits, that they united the systematic cultiva- 
tion of Learning with all their Missions, in every 
part of the world. This was the cirumstance which 
rendered them so effective in their measures ; and, 
eventually, so formidable, even to Rome herself. 
Hence it is likewise, that they have excelled others 
in the publication of their Proceedings ; either having 
had more to say, or having been more disposed to 
speak of themselves, than was the case with the 
other Orders. Had it been in the Author's power 
to furnish, from the publications of other Monastic 
Orders of the Church of Rome, a fuller retrospec- 

the Jesuits was founded A.D. 1540. The Propaganda was esta- 
blished by Gregory XV. A.D. 1622 ; and the measures of the 
Romish Hierarchy were greatly extended by Pope Urban VIII. 
A.D. 1644 — 1655. (See Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, on each 
of these Articles.) The Archives of these different Religious Orders, 
if still preserved at Rome, must contain a copious and interesting 
account of the languages, customs, opinions, and history of all parts 
of the world. Some of the most ancient Letters of the Missionary 
Fathers it might be difficult, perhaps, to decipher ; and others it 
would be wearisome beyond measure to read, if they record mi- 
nutely such legends as are already to be found sufficiently numerous 
in print. The probability is, that these entire archives will never 
be digested, so as to offer to the public an intelligent view of their 
contents : nor is this, perhaps, very deeply to be regretted ; since, 
for practical purposes, such a publication could not much serve, so 
constantly does the state of society change, even in those nations 
which we are wont to regard as the most stationary. 

It may, however, be observed, that the printed Works on this 
subject, of which a Catalogue is given by Fabricius, would be 
sufficient to form a library, if collected together. The title of 
the 32d Chapter of his " Lux Evangelii" is as follows : Missiones 
Religiosce, Jesuitarum maxime, Francisccmorum ac Dominicanorum, 
eorumque relationes ab anno 1542, in prcesens usque tempus. [1731.] 
They refer to the following countries, chiefly — Japan, China, Thibet, 
the East Indies, Persia, Abyssinia, Congo, Canada, and Mexico, with 
the Brazils and other parts of South America. They who have 
access to large and well-furnished libraries, and are desirous of pro- 
secuting this subject, cannot do better than take the above-men- 
tioned work of Fabricius with them, as their manual and guide. 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 351 

tive view of Syria and the Holy Land, it would have 
been his duty to do justice to their exertions, as 
well as to those of the Jesuits. 

The Stations of the Jesuit Missions formerly 
existing in Syria are thus enumerated by them- 
selves : — 

We have, in Syria, five establishments. They are situated 
in the cities and other places where the exercise of a Mission 
is requisite. Two of them are in the most celebrated and most 
frequented parts of Syria, viz. Saide and Tripoli. We have 
two others in the two principal cities ; namely, Damascus and 
Aleppo. Our fifth establishment is in the district called 
Kesrouan : its seat is at Antoura. {Lett. Edif. et Curieuses, 
Vol. I. pp. 112, 113.) 

The following Sketch, drawn by the Jesuit Missi- 
onaries, of the character of their labours in Syria, is 
written in a pleasing style ; and will, in the former 
part of it, interest every Christian Reader. Toward 
the conclusion, however, that limited and exclusive 
object, in pursuit of which they planted themselves 
in Syria, is clearly developed. The worldly-politic 
principle on which they acted, that of making and 
securing proselytes to Rome, appears to have carried 
with it its own bane, by diffusing over their prospects 
a corresponding narrowness of hope and expecta- 
tion. They seem, indeed, to feel themselves engaged 
in a great and arduous work ; yet virtually acknow- 
ledge, that there is one still greater and more ardu- 
ous, from the achievement of which, although it be 
the proper calling of a Missionary, they nevertheless 
shrink back. 

Before exhibiting to your paternal notice our occupations 
for the sanctification of souls, we should mention the means 
which we possess of promoting our own : for we should bear 
in mind that leading instruction, given by Ignatius to Missio- 



352 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS, 
naries of his Society, that they should zealously perfect them- 
selves in the ways of God, before they undertake to conduct 
others therein. 

The first means which we possess of drawing us to God, 
is the having almost continually before us the scene of all the 
actions and all the sufferings of the Saviour 

The second means of perfection which the Missionaries 
find here, are the crosses which they often have to bear in 
following the Saviour. These proceed from the Infidels 
[meaning chiefly the Mahomedans], who have a sovereign 
contempt for the Christians ; to that degree, that it is, as it 
were, a point of their religion to maltreat them. 

We have yet more to suffer from the Schismatics. Schism 
inspires them with an implacable hatred against the Catholics, 
and particularly against the Missionaries. They employ lies, 
calumny, perfidy, and false-testimony, to draw upon them, as 
often as possible, extortions from the Turks. 

We have not less to suffer on the part of Libertines, 
who regard us as the declared enemies of their free -living, 
because we endeavour to draw from them the unhappy victims 
of their iniquities. 

To these crosses must be added the pestilential and conta- 
gious maladies, to which the Missionaries are often exposed, 
or to which they voluntarily expose themselves, accounting 
themselves happy to give up their life by a martyrdom of 
charity to their brethren in Christ Jesus. Several of us have 
had this happy lot. 

Such are the crosses inseparable from the life of the Evan- 
gelist. The Son of God has announced and promised them 
to those who will follow Him. It were wrong for us to com- 
plain, because we feel that they contribute to detach us from 
life and from ourselves. They make us love God, and desire 
to possess Him eternally. 

I do not here speak of our manner of living, so different 
from that in France. We have frequent occasion to remember, 
that we did not come hither to seek our convenience. We 
endeavour to be an expense to nobody. We declare to our 
disciples that we only desire the salvation of their souls ; and 
we content ourselves with the alms which come to us from 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 353 
France, having always before our eyes the poverty which the 
Son of God and his Apostles professed here before us, 

The third means of sanctification which Syria and Egypt 
afford us, is the multitude of good works which present them- 
selves to us without ceasing. No Missionary wants work. 
He finds more of it than he can do ; and it is this which has 
carried off several, who have fallen, in the flower of their age, 
under the weight of labour. I ought here to add, that we 
are not here the sole labourers in the vineyard of our Lord. 
Many Religious, of the different Orders and possessed of 
fervent character, cultivate it with us. 

In conclusion, I confess that we must not expect here to 
make the conquest of entire kingdoms, to bring them under 
the dominion of Jesus Christ, and to baptize as many thou- 
sand men as St. Francis Xavier baptized. That is not the 
object : but God demands of us a continual attention to main- 
tain the Catholic Christians in their holy faith ; to preserve 
them from the contagion of schism, heresy, and libertinism ; 
and to recover to the bosom of the Church those who have 
the misfortune to be separated from it I will even add, that, 
had we no other occupation than certain obscure works which 
are of daily occurrence, yet we should esteem ourselves ex- 
tremely happy in bestowing all our life on them ; persuaded 
that these, although concealed and without eclat, are not the 
less precious in the sight of God. 

But, thanks to the Lord ! the field which we have to culti- 
vate is vast and very populous. It furnishes always, to a very 
great number of labourers, opportunities of much exertion 
and much suffering. 

They count, in Syria and Egypt, about two hundred thou- 
sand Christians of different nations — namely, Maronites, 
Greeks, Syrians, Armenians, Chaldeans, and Copts. All 
make a public profession of the Christian Religion ; annually 
paying, on this account, their tribute to the Porte. 

These different nations have their Patriarchs, their Bishops, 
and their Priests ; of whom some are Catholics and the rest 
are Schismatics. May it please God to bless the appearances 
which we have of a rich harvest ! Such is the object of our 

A A 



354 NOTICES, REM AUKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

vows and of our labours ; and, for it, we are ready, did it de- 
pend on that, to pour forth our blood. I can assure you, my 
Reverend Father, that such is the disposition of all our Mis- 
sionaries. 

It is the fruit of the excellent means, which Syria every 
year furnishes us for attaining the perfection of our state, 
and conducting to the gate of salvation the nations confided 
to us by Providence. {Id. Vol. I. pp. 113—1 19.) 

The passages following' will illustrate the manner 
in which the Missionaries conducted their plans, 
w T hile itinerating among the various parishes of 
Mount Lebanon. The need which Females have of 
instruction in the Levant is very touchingly exhi- 
bited ; and the sagacity, w ith which the Missionaries 
applied their care to the rising generation, is too 
striking not to be noticed. 

The following is the manner in which our Missionaries 
ordinarily begin their Mission in the villages : — 

They enter the villages with the crucifix in their hand, 
thereby announcing to the people that they come to see them 
in the name of Christ Crucified. If there is a Church or a 
Chapel in the village, they repair thither, to offer up prayer 
with the Christians of the place, who are promptly advised of 
the arrival of the Missionaries. They employ their first days 
in visiting them. They assemble them afterward, either in 
their private houses, or in their Churches when the Curates 
permit : they there catechize their children, and give instruc- 
tion to adults. They carefully inform themselves concerning 
the sick, and visit them : they often find them lying on the 
ground, or on a miserable mat, in want of the necessaries of 
life, and still more of spiritual succour ; for their Curates, 
who are hard put to it to live on their small salary, are much 
more occupied with the care of their own matters than with 
that of their parishioners, and gladly throw themselves on the 
good-will of Missionaries. 

This circumstance occasions us to take the precaution of 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 355 
carrying with us small silver cases, in which we inclose conse- 
crated wafers, in order to give the viaticum to such of the sick 
as appear to us in danger and piously disposed to receive it. 

(Id. Vol. I. pp. 202, 203.) 

To labour with the hope of gathering one day abundant 
fruit, whether in the city or in the country, we apply ourselves 
particularly to the instruction of children. We endeavour to 
render them strong and firm in the Catholic Faith 7 in order 
that, becoming one day the successors of heretical Bishops 
and Curates, they may gather the tares out of the field of 
Jesus Christ and sow in it good seed. (Id. p. 148.) 

While one of us is occupied in the instruction of children, 
morning and evening, the other Missionaries are visiting the 
Christian Families in their houses. These visits are not less 
necessary than useful ; for females with them not having 
liberty in going abroad, they would never hear concerning 
God and their salvation, if we did not seek them out and 
draw their attention to these subjects. (Id. Vol. II. p. 178.) 

It is not, however, to be imagined that these great 
exertions of the Missionaries from the West could 
well pass without notice, or without opposition from 
the Native Christians and others, in the midst of 
whom they laboured. The odium, which they appear 
to have incurred, may possibly have been, in part, the 
consequence of a system, which tended not so much 
to simple and genuine conversion as to temporal 
domination. However this may have been, it will 
not fail to interest the Reader to observe, in the fol- 
lowing Extract, with which we shall close this re- 
trospective view, the lively alarm excited among the 
different parties in Syria precisely a century ago. 
The modes of feeling and of acting, with regard to 
religious measures in that country, appear to have 
suffered very little change since that period. 

A A 2 



350 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 



Letter of the Superior General of the Missionaries of the Jesuits to 
Father Fleuriau. 

Saide, 2\stJul?j, 1723. 

Reverend Father — 

We cannot too soon give you information of a recent 
Command of the Grand Seignior, which a Capidgee has just 
brought to Damascus, Aleppo, and the principal cities of 
Syria. By this Command, it is forbidden to the Christian 
Subjects of the Grand Seignior to embrace the Catholic 
Religion ; and the Latin Missionaries are prohibited from 
having any communication with the Greeks, Armenians, and 
Syrians, under pretence of instructing them. It is further 
ordered by this Command, that, in case any Greek, Armenian, 
and Syrian Christians, subjects of the Grand Seignior, shall 
have quitted their ancient religion to profess that of the Pa- 
pists, they must give up the latter immediately, and resume 
their former religion. 

This Command has been given at the request of the Schis- 
matic Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and 
Damascus, assembled in Synod at Constantinople. 

The real motive, by which they were instigated, was vexa- 
tion at seeing that their flocks daily diminished, while that of 
Jesus Christ was increased and enriched with the spoils of 
Schism. 

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, himself the most zealous par- 
tisan of schism, passing by Damascus and Aleppo on his way 
to Constantinople, was an eye-witness of the progress of the 
Catholic Religion. He saw, with a pain which he was unable 
to dissemble, the fervour of our Churches in these two cities. 
He rendered an account of the matter to the Synod. The 
Synod, in soliciting the desired Command, were too wary to 
express the real motive of their spite : they had recourse to 
an accusation the most suited to irritate the minds of the Grand 
Seignior and his Grand Vizier against the Catholics. The 
Patriarchs of the Synod represented to the Grand Vizier, that 
the Frank Missionaries, for so they called the Latins, seduced 
their people, subjects of the Grand Seignior, and made them 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 357 

change their religion for that of the Papists, and took upon 
them to instruct them, an office which belonged solely to the 
Patriarchs of their nation. There wanted nothing more than 
this explanation to procure the Command which they re- 
quested ; and it was, in fact, easily and promptly obtained. 

In consequence of this Command, the Turkish Officers, 
who always draw great profit from the extortions which they 
lay on the Catholics, imprisoned the Bishop of Aleppo, the 
Bishop of Saide, several Priests, and several Laymen, good 
Catholics of the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, and 
Saide — threatening some with banishment and others with 
death, if they did not return to the religion of their Patriarch. 

Our Consul at Aleppo has signified to us this new Com- 
mand of the Porte. He has required us to suspend our Mis- 
sions ; and to cease from our ordinary functions as Missiona- 
ries, as we have exercised them in this country for more than 
a century. All France knows that, we have been sent hither, 
by the order and under the name of our Kings, to preserve 
and maintain here the Catholic Faith. 

We have obeyed the orders which have been conveyed to 
us ; but we appeal, at the same time, to the piety of the King, 
Protector of the Catholic Religion in this Infidel Empire. 
Our Kings, his predecessors, have always granted us their 
protection, with the utmost success that we could hope for on 
similar occasions. 

The present is a juncture most favourable; for it is noto- 
rious that this Command has been given on the ground of a 
false charge. 

The Schismatical Patriarchs accuse the Latin Missionaries 
of inducing the Greeks, Armenians, and Syrians to change 
their religion ; and yet it is visible to all the world, that the 
subjects of the Grand Seignior continue the same Rites which 
they have always observed. Their Rites are good ; approved 
by the Holy See, and by the General Councils. Their change, 
if there be any, is purely internal ; and only consists, gene- 
rally, in abandoning certain superstitions and some particular 
errors which schism has introduced among the Christians, and 
in professing those Catholic Verities which ignorance alone 
had concealed from them. 



358 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

In what regards the functions of the Missionaries, they are 
conformed to our ancient Capitulations between France and 
the Ottoman Porte, without any innovation ; and, so far from 
our functions alienating the subjects of the Grand Seignior 
from the obedience which they owe to him, the Turkish Magi- 
strates are obliged to admit that the Catholic Subjects of His 
Highness are much more submissive to him and the govern- 
ment, than are the Schismatics. 

Such, Reverend Father, is the case which we entreat you to 
represent to His Majesty : hoping that he will cause us to 
taste, on this occasion, the first-fruits of his royal protection ; 
and, at the same time, shew the Turk, that His Majesty will 
be as zealous a Protector of the Catholic Faith in the Levant, 
as the Kings his predecessors have been, and especially Louis 
XIV. of glorious memory*. {Id. Vol. I. p. 295, et seq.) 

It would have been easy to multiply citations 
from various works, elucidating still farther the sub- 
ject under consideration: the difficulty is, in fact, to 



* Louis XV. came to the throne A.D. 1715. 

An incident, mentioned by Niebuhr in his Travels, tends, remark- 
ably and unexpectedly, to illustrate the little favour which the Romish 
Missions have acquired in some parts of the East. The Reader will 
bear with this additional Extract. 

" The preceding night I slept in the house of an Armenian Eccle- 
siastic, without the gates of the city, in order that I might be able to 
set off the next morning before the opening of the gate. My host 
appeared, at first, distrustful ; taking me for a Catholic : but, when I 
informed him that I was English, he, having formed an acquaintance 
with people of that nation at Aleppo, and esteeming it much, because 
it sends no missionaries into turkey, became very polite, and 
ordered me a good supper, which we ate together under a tree." 

{Niebuhr, Vol. II. p. 332 ; between Diarbekir and Aleppo?) 

Considering England as likely to become a Missionary Nation, the 
compliment conveyed in the preceding passage might almost be re- 
sented by the present generation. It contains^ however, too much 
truth. England, at the time when Niebuhr wrote, sent no Missiona- 
ries into Turkey ! Now that Missionaries from our land are begin- 
ning to visit that region, the timidity of the Armenian Ecclesiastic 
may suggest many important practical lessons, on the necessity of our 
winning, rather than forcing, our way. 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 859 

set limits to this kind of selection. From the ma- 
terials already furnished, we may now proceed to 
form some opinion with regard to what has been 
already done for the Levant ; and, from the experi- 
ence of others, may gather some hints, which may 
assist us in the choice of our own measures. 

REMARKS ON PAST MEASURES. 

L The first remark which most obviously occurs 

IS, HOW LITTLE DISTINCT REFERENCE IS MADE TO 
BIBLE-INSTRUCTION. 

It is true, one of the four offices stated as being 
required in the Missionaries is, "to preach the Word 
of God;" and, in various parts, several books of the 
Bible are expressly named : but there is no avowed 
plan for teaching the Bible to children, to young 
persons, or to adults. This, in fact, with the exception 
of the Psalter, was not intended to be taught. Many 
Sunday-School Children in England, who learn by 
heart entire chapters of the New Testament, and are 
thoroughly catechized in the Old, become, by the 
age of twelve or fourteen, better instructed in the 
nature of Christianity than, according to this system, 
even an adult would ever be. 

The general circulation of the Holy Scriptures, 
the use of them in Schools, and the adoption, con- 
sequently, of Scriptural Measures in all the proceed- 
ings of Missionaries, are new and important features 
of the present century. A quarter of that century 
has already passed ; and it is impossible for any in- 
telligent person to survey this brief period, without 
being astonished at the activity of religious enter- 
prise, by which it has been distinguished. Nor 
does there appear, at the present moment, to be the 



360 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

least abatement of pressure in the public spirit : all 
urge forward : all feel that there is much unaccom- 
plished of what is to be done ; or, rather, in propor- 
tion as persons view more intimately the state of 
mankind, they begin to feel as if the World was 
only just waking- out of a slumber of many cen- 
turies — a deadly sleep of secular false principles, of 
ignorance, of apathy, of stupidity. It is delightful 
to reflect, that this awakened feeling is accompa- 
nied by an increasing reverence for the Word of 
God; the only worthy object, and the only sterling 
security, to an age of extraordinary excitement! 

In the magnificent Missionary Enterprises of the 
Church of Rome (magnificent they must certainly 
be deemed, when we consider all their Imperial, 
Regal, and Papal resources of wealth ; all the 
learning connected with them and resulting from 
them; but, especially, the numbers and character of 
their labourers, men of hardihood, guided by al- 
most military discipline, and fearlessly traversing 
the whole Globe : magnificent, also, as having no 
rival for these many hundred years with which to 
compare them) there was yet one grand principle 
wanting — that of drawing, directly, from the Sa- 
cred Oracles, and communicating by means of them, 
directly, the knowledge of Divine Truth. 

There is a wide difference, between teaching 
even the matter of the Bible, and teaching the 
Bible itself. Teaching the matter of the Bible, was 
the principle by which the Romish Missionaries 
professed to act : how far they deviated from that 
matter, we stop not here to inquire; briefly remark- 
ing only, that, by withholding from men the key of 
knowledge and not suffering others to go in, they 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION* 861 

entered not in themselves : they taught, and they 
themselves believed, things different from and con- 
trary to the doctrine of the Bible. But that which 
we consider as illustrated by this view, is, that, in 
the detail of their operations, these Missionaries 
were men without the Bible. 

Protestant Societies have to beware, that they do 
not send Bibles without men: not because the Bible, 
without a living Interpreter, can do harm — it can- 
not do harm ; and it may, alone, be the means of 
an infinite benefit : but because such a principle falls 
short of the Apostolical method of preaching the 
Gospel. This is, indeed, a subject of vital import- 
ance to the character of modern Missions, or rather 
to the interests of Christ's Kingdom ; and it is well 
that all persons should be roused to the keenest 
sense of it. I would repeat, therefore, in the most 
pointed language of contrast, that if the principle 
of sending out Missionaries without the Bible be 
v now viewed as exploded, yet not all is gained if the 
Bible be sent out without Missionaries. It is, indeed, 
with exultation, that every enlightened Christian 
must contemplate the stupendous operations of the 
Bible Society — oftentimes penetrating into recesses 
as yet impervious to the feet of the Missionary ; 
and, in other instances, giving him ample materials 
for the useful labour of distribution, while his lips, 
as yet unpractised in a foreign dialect, can furnish 
to his hearers only a stammering speech. Yet all 
this Biblical Apparatus — neither, indeed, is the 
tenth portion of this department completed — is but 
preliminary. The sooner Missionary Societies can 
press on their servants to the work of preaching the 
Gospel, by so much the earlier will Scriptural Trans- 



362 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

lations be completed; the more extensively will 
copies of the Scriptures be distributed ; and thus, 
erelong, will the doctrines of the Bible be expound- 
ed, understood, and embraced among all nations of 
the Earth ! 

This topic will, however, be more specifically in- 
sisted on in the next Chapter. From having noticed 
how little Bible-instruction has hitherto been given 
by the Papal Missionaries in the East, it was only 
seasonable to check, in Protestant Minds, that spi- 
rit of dangerous self-gratulation, which might arise 
from comparing our principles with those of Rome. 
Comparing ourselves with the Apostolic Age, we 
are more likely to become wisely humble and nobly 
emulous. 

2. It is further observable, how little notice, in 
the outline of the Romish Missions, is taken of 
the state of females. Their education, and 
especially the education of females by those of their 
own sex, is scarcely hinted. 

Nunneries are alluded to by Assemann, as calcu- 
lated to promote the education of the sex : but these 
Institutions must be generally considered in the 
light of an Asylum, not that of an Academy. Al- 
though in Europe they have very often furnished 
excellent means of instruction to females ; yet, in 
the general decay of all learning in the East, the 
Monastic System has supplied little to females, ex- 
cept the means of seclusion. Should we even add, 
that they have gained thereby the opportunity of 
Devotion, yet it may fairly be asked, What kind of 
piety is that, which consumes life in the repetition 
of the same religious ceremonies ; in a sphere too 
contracted to admit of trial, experience, and en- 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 303 

larged growth? The pallid vegetation of a plant 
in a dark and damp cavern, is but a faint represen- 
tation of the green and vigorous productions of the 
field in open day : neither can the valuable charac- 
teristics of well-trained females, in the various rela- 
tive duties appointed them by God, ever be brought 
into exercise within the walls of the Convent. 

In consequence, however, of the general neglect 
and degradation of the female character in the 
Countries of the East, the prejudice is universally 
counter to the idea of Female Education. Under 
the Jewish Economy, Solomon, while pourtraying, 
in language which never can be even imitated, much 
less equalled, all the tender and dignified graces of 
a virtuous Matron* ; yet seems to imply that the cha- 
racter was, in his time, or at least within the sphere 
of his own observation, very rare. Such a defec- 
tive state of society, however, cannot be considered 
as agreeable to the standard of Christian Perfection, 
iv here there is neither male nor female. Yet how 
far is that character still above the view of Chris- 
tian Women in the East ! far, also, above the notions 
of Christian Men in the East ! And thus will it ever 
continue, so long as the superstitious veneration for 
Monastic Institutions shall last ; and, with it, the 
idea that Education is the privilege of only half the 
population of the world. 

To subvert so great a combination of practical 
evils, it is necessary to notice three facts. First, 
that the number of persons of both sexes devoted 
to the Monastic Life must necessarily bear a very 
small proportion to the great bulk of society. Se- 



* Proverbs xxxi. 10 — 31. 



364 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

condly, that this small band are in no degree com- 
petent, neither is it likely that they will, in the long 
run, be inclined, to undertake the education of the 
rest of their fellow- creatures. Thirdly, if mankind 
are generally to be instructed, so far, that is, as 
that all should be able to read the Bible with a 
common understanding of the sense of it, this 
amount of instruction must mainly depend upon 
Mothers. Thus the argument becomes complete in 
favour of Universal Female Education ; and that 
education to be given by Females. It is the only 
way, in which one* of the greatest possible blessings 
is to be obtained. It is, in fact, a system which 
can be propagated and perpetuated only by itself. 
Married Men cannot supply it to those who share 
with them the business and cares of life ; much less 
can Monastic Men, or the very few Monastic Fe- 
males who exist in a nation. Monastic persons 
might furnish what are properly called the Accom- 
plishments of education : but general, plain, Female 
Education is a task beyond the reach of sequestered 
men and women; and must flow from a thousand 
maternal hearts, and hands, and lips. 

While the mind takes the range of this pleasing 
speculation, it is painfully arrested by the thought, 
that the whole or nearly the w hole existing genera- 
tion of Mothers in these countries are very far indeed 
from being qualified to undertake this necessary 
work : how slowly, how imperfectly performed, or 
not at all even attempted, must be the Education, 
consequently, of their Daughters ! How, in fact, is 

* Not to mention another ; namely, the training of the earliest 
years of Boys — a training which chiefly rests on the temper and 
talents of the Mother, 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION". 365 

this grand regenerating system to be commenced 
and effectually introduced ? 

We would submit, that the course best to be pur- 
sued, in the first instance, might be, systematically 
to address Fathers and Mothers ; laying before them 
the plainest and most convincing reasons in favour 
of Female Education. It is true their prejudices 
would be strong against it: but reason, united with 
affection, will eventually prevail. The arguments 
on each side are not many ; and the tenor of them 
is very simple. With regard to Syria, the negative 
argument most overpowering to the mind of a na- 
tive would probably be no other than that which 
paralyzes the energies of men in every country — 
despair of the practicability of the measure. 

Here then must come in the helping hand and the 
animating counsels of a foreign friend. The Wife 
of a married Missionary has before her all the Mo- 
thers and Daughters of her Husband's province ; 
dependent (it may be for generations to come) on 
her example, her voice, her measures. It is, conse- 
quently, to Protestant Married-Missionaries that we 
must look, for a large benefit to be conferred on 
mankind : the celibacy of Romish Missionaries is a 
circumstance, which, from the outset, has had a ten- 
dency to cut off half the population of a Missionary 
Province from the reach of their educational train- 
ing ; and, in truth, as they found females unable to 
read, and consequently unable to teach, so have 
they left them. It was natural to expect that it 
should be so : the fact, therefore, excites no sur- 
prise ; though it cannot fail to move regret and 
pity. 

3. It may next be remarked, that the monastic 



366 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

system, from which, during many centuries, such 
great things were expected, seems, the more closely 
it is examined, to be, in a great degree, unfavoura- 
ble to Apostolic Proceedings. 

The Monastic State, compared with the Apo- 
stolical History, is much the same as the ingenuity 
of any Human System compared with the simplicity 
of Divine Truth — plausible, but defective. 

At first view, the Monastic Life promises a race 
of devoted men, unincumbered with secular cares, 
or hopes, or fears ; free for study, action, travel, 
and enterprise ; ready either to live, or calmly 
to endure their inevitable lot — once to die, for the 
cause which they have espoused. This kind of 
character is certainly wanted for extraordinary ser- 
vices, and in peculiarly trying circumstances. 

At the commencement of new and arduous un- 
dertakings, or under the pressure of harassing per- 
secutions, the single state is well adapted: yet, even 
in such cases, the great exemplar of Apostolical in- 
dependence forbears from pressing his recommenda- 
tion too far (1 Cor. vii. 28). But that, in circum- 
stances of comparative quiet, whole bodies of men, 
as the Dominican, Franciscan, or other Orders — 
nay, even an entire Priesthood, as the hierarchy of 
Rome, dispersed through all the world, and in some 
degree the Clergy of the Oriental Churches — should 
settle down into Monastic ease, or refuse to share 
the responsibilities and burdens of domestic life, 
must be regarded as opposed both to Scripture and 
to Nature. The inevitable tendency of such a system 
is bad : and all its evils, with all their guilt, fall 
upon the head of those who gratuitously invent and 
uphold such a system, imposing it on the Priesthood. 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION". 367 

The Apostolical History, on the contrary, coun- 
tenances no restraint on marriage : St. Paul himself, 
even where he dissuades from the married state, yet 
does so in reference to the peculiar distresses of the 
times ; and with the clearest understanding that the 
professed Celibate be one endowed, by nature and 
by grace, with ability to keep his heart and life 
pure — a condition, which, as it rests between God 
and each individual, can never be secured by gene- 
ralizing laws of man's instituting. The history of 
the Infant Church of Christ exhibits much good 
done by married persons ; and as much willingness 
to suffer was manifested by those who had wives, or 
husbands, or children at stake, as by those, whose 
all was centered in individual Self, 

The Monastic and Celibate System is, in fact, 
best adapted to uphold a worldly party : the Mar- 
ried Priesthood more necessarily admit the cultiva- 
tion of the social graces of Christianity. Most 
melancholy would it be, if Missionary Societies of 
the Reformed Churches, leaving the model of Scrip- 
ture Example and untaught by the experience of 
ages past, should incline to any measures which 
might give a bias opposed to marriage. A tempo- 
rary, local, or partial benefit might be the conse- 
quence ; but no such benefit could ever compensate 
for the extensive and durable mischiefs resulting 
from such a line of policy. 

4. One point more shall briefly be noticed. There 
is in the Instructions here given to the Missionaries, 
and in the accounts rendered by themselves, no dis- 
tinct view of the subject of attempting the conver- 
sion of mahomedans. It seems to be kept out of 



368 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

sight. Possibly it may be said, that it is implied in 
the general duty of winning souls. 

But is this a branch of duty of such minor im- 
portance, or one so easy to be grasped, as that it 
should be left to private zeal and talent ; while the 
mode of treating with Native Christians is so fully 
developed ? It may be said, again, that policy re- 
quired that this topic should not be publickly an- 
nounced, but that it was probably conveyed in 
secret instructions : of the policy of such privacy I 
do not speak ; but I question the fact whether such 
instructions were conveyed: if they were, how is it 
that the Missionaries record so much of their la- 
bours with the Native Christians, and so little of 
religious conversations with Mahomedans — that this 
latter project is by them sometimes virtually dis- 
avowed — and that the object of their Missions is, 
in the present day, so generally declared to be to 
keep together those who have in ancient times em- 
braced the Romish Persuasion? At all events, no- 
thing like adequate provision appears to be made 
for this great Oriental Work ; nor is it by any means 
easy to see, in what way Popery could address it- 
self to the converting of Mahomedans to the Chris- 
tian Faith. 

HINTS ON FUTURE MEASURES. 

But it is time to close these strictures, and endea- 
vour to collect together such views as may have 
offered themselves, in reference to the line of duty 
to which Protestant Missions are called in address- 
ing themselves to Western Asia. 

1. The first duty seems to be, carefully to survey 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 369 

the state of the field before us, and to ascertain 

THE NATURE OF THE VARIOUS CHARACTERS WITH 
WHOM WE SHALL HAVE TO TREAT. 

These various characters may be classed almost 
in the same manner as they might in the Apostolic 
Age. This is a great advantage ; as it may assist us 
in guiding our measures more exactly by the rule of 
Scriptural Examples. 

A Missionary in Western Asia will have to do 
with four principal descriptions of persons. First : 
those who are not converted to Christianity. Se- 
condly : those who shall set themselves up as bitter 
opposers. Thirdly : those who shall be, in simpli- 
city and purity of heart, converted. And, fourthly: 
those who, professing themselves converts, will ne- 
vertheless cherish prejudices tending to corrupt the 
Christian Faith. 

The First Class, as it comprehended in the Apo- 
stolic Age the whole Gentile or PaganWorld,sonow, 
in Western Asia, it would include all the Mahome- 
dans, Jews, Druses, and other denominations not 
converted to Christianity. In one respect alone, do 
they differ from the Ancient Gentile World, such 
as it existed in the beginning of the Christian Era : 
they know the name of Christianity. Its nature, 
however, they have had little opportunity of appre- 
ciating, from either the conduct or the teaching of 
Modern Christian-Churches, which dishonour rather 
than adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. 

The Second Class consisted, in the Apostolic 
Age, of the great mass of the unconverted and obsti- 
nate Jewish Nation; who, everywhere, were the first 
and the most bitter opposers of the Apostles, being 
exceedingly mad against them, and persecuting them 

B B 



370 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

even unto strange cities : to these were soon united 
many Pagan Persecutors, who imagined that Chris- 
tianity was at war with their secular interests. Cor- 
responding to these, there will not be wanting, 
probably, many in Western Asia who will take the 
alarm at the preaching of the pure Gospel ; and, 
conceiving it to be injurious to their Ecclesiastical 
or Political Institutions, will forbid us to speak to 
the Gentiles. 

The Third Class, substantially the same in every 
age and country, needs no particular description. 

The Fourth Class already exists very extensively. 
As, in the first age of Christianity, the Jewish Con- 
verts wished to add to the faith all those rites and 
ceremonies in which they had been educated ; so 
now, in the present time, professing Christians in the 
East corrupt the simplicity that is in Christ, by the 
multiplication of ceremonies, by the rigours of abs- 
tinences and long formal devotions, and by a vene- 
ration, somewhat more than superstitious, of the 
Sacraments. Of human traditions they are more 
tenacious than of the Divine Law. By the preju- 
dices of bigotry, or by the enfeebling influence of 
superstition, their' minds are brought to a state in 
which they have no understanding of the genuine 
liberty of the Gospel ; and, for the law of Christian 
Love, they have substituted the rigours and anathe- 
mas of Authority, as the only efficient instruments 
of Church Government. 

2. It will next be requisite to consider how 

THESE VARIOUS CLASSES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. 

To the ignorant, the fullest instruction should 
be given. To declare, to prove, and affectionately 
to recommend the whole of Christianity to the 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 871 

Mahomedans, to the Jews, to the Druses, to the 
Ansari, and to all others, is no doubt that which 
the Apostles, were they upon earth, would urgently 
press upon us. Their Master and ours has given 
the command — Preach the Gospel to every creature. 
If there has been a false delicacy manifested in too 
gently touching more especially the topic of the con- 
verting of Mahomedans, it may be attributed to the 
feeling generally entertained in Christendom — and 
justly too — of their remarkably intolerant character. 
But this is no sufficient reason for declining this 
great work. It is an enterprise, which demands to 
be taken up systematically and fully ; perhaps, in 
order to give it greater advantage, for a time at 
least, exclusively. If this be not done, the Mis- 
sionary Societies of the Reformed Churches will 
sink in their character : they will become, like the 
Romish Missions, occupied chiefly in recovering 
the heretical or misguided members of the household 
of faith; and thus rest within the borders of pro- 
fessing Christendom, instead of gathering in alien 
and outcast nations. To no Missionary Sphere do 
these remarks apply so pointedly as to the Medi- 
terranean. 

With regard to those who shall oppose our la- 
bours, all former experience has shewn that worldly 
interest or malignant pride have been the motives, 
which have impelled individuals or parties to resist 
the truth. It is well to know this, and to be fully 
persuaded of it ; in order that we may bear in mind 
the quality of those passions, whenever they spring 
up to oppose the Gospel. And how are these to be 
met ? By meekness, by love, by patient continuance 
in well-doing, and by long-suffering: and they are 

B B 2 



372 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

to be resisted, also, with the words of truth and so- 
berness ; only in the spirit of gentleness. And 
when all means of persuasion fail, and raging per- 
secution bursts with blind fury on the head of the 
faithful servants of Christ, the Captain of our Salva- 
tion will not forsake them : He will sustain them, 
while fighting the good fight; and, when they fall, 
He will place upon their heads a crown of glory 
that fadeth not away. 

But it is to be expected that the full and free 
preaching of the Gospel will be attended with the 
actual conversion of multitudes among Mahome- 
dans, Jews, Nominal Christians, and others. Till 
this glorious result shall take place, how cold and 
unsatisfactory, nay, almost disheartening, are all 
other branches of a Missionary's duty ! But, when 
one and another individual shall give good signs of 
being born again of the Spirit of God, what lively 
consolations will inspire the breast of the Labourer! 
How much more, when multitudes shall be added 
unto the Church daily, of such as shall be saved ! 

With those who corrupt the gospel, who either 
swerve from the fundamental truths or violate the 
spirit of the New Testament, it is not the least dif- 
ficult task of a Missionary to deal. The vehement 
and anxious manner with which St. Paul — in his 
Epistle to the Galatians more particularly — treats 
this case, shews it to be one of the most serious im- 
portance; and, in the same spirit, he constantly 
exhorts Timothy and Titus to be on the watch 
against perverters of the Gospel. It will be useful 
to observe the various tempers, in succession, which 
go toward forming the character of such persons : 
the original feeling of such men is Attachment to 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 373 

ancient Customs and preconceived Opinions ; grow- 
ing out of their education, and the habits of the 
society to which they belong : next is Ignorance, or 
a partial acquaintance with the new truths, to the 
reception of which they are invited : supposing 
them, in consequence, only to receive these truths 
imperfectly, and to lie in a kind of middle state 
between their former errors and their new opinions, 
they are then in peculiar danger of falling into Self- 
Conceit ; and, meeting with opposition or reproof, 
their temper is, perhaps suddenly, kindled into irri- 
tated pride : when this becomes the state of opinion 
and feeling of several persons in a professing Chris- 
tian Church, Party-Spirit speedily succeeds ; one 
set of persons approving particular views becoming 
closely attached one to another, and conceiving a 
feeling of antipathy and hostility against those on 
the other side who disapprove their opinions or pro- 
ceedings. It will ever require much calm forbear- 
ance, and much discernment of the characters of 
men, to ascertain how far a person is advanced in 
this course of unchristian temper — a temper more 
or less connected with every heresy and schism, 
which has disturbed the peace and corrupted the 
purity of the Church. In some instances, regarding 
the errors of men as the effect of prejudice and igno- 
rance, a sufficient remedy for them may be found in 
not giving heed to them, in studiously abstaining from 
them, and in the more diligently following after those 
things which make for edification. But, in other 
cases, where error is fundamental ; and where they, 
who are perverting the Gospel, manifest pride and 
a domineering and overbearing temper, and are 
combined by the league of party-spirit so that they 



371 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

appear likely to subvert whole houses, or even whole 
Churches and Nations ; then the example of St. 
Paul may teach us a seasonable zeal for essential 
truths. Mark and note them .... have no company 

ivith them, that they may be ashamed .... their 

mouths must be stopped; that is, by sound argu- 
ment and convincing reasons ...... rebuke them 

sharply. (Rom. xvi. 17. 2 Thess. iii. 14. Titus i. 
11, 13.) 

At the present day, as has already been remarked, 
there exist in Western Asia numerous corruptions 
of Christianity, some more — others less essential. 
They are the offspring of ancient and long-standing 
ignorance ; and they have been nurtured to greater 
strength by bigotry, party-spirit, and secular interest. 
A Missionary will no sooner enter this region, but 
he will meet with these evils on every side. It cer- 
tainly will be best for him, not to consider the up- 
rooting of these as the primary business of his Mis- 
sion : he has a much higher object ; but it will be 
requisite for him, nevertheless, to be well prepared, 
both to render a reasonable account of his own 
views, and also to resist and endeavour to convince 
the gainsayers. 

3. Whether Missionaries should attempt the for- 
mation Of GREAT AND FIXED ESTABLISHMENTS ill 

Turkey, as the Roman Catholics have for some 
centuries done, is a question, on which the following 
considerations may throw some light; but the Author 
leaves it to more experienced persons than himself, 
to enlarge their view of the subject, and to form 
their own opinion. 

If such Establishments are to be Monastic, it 
must be observed that Protestantism, or we may 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 375 

perhaps fairly say Christianity, does not regard 
with a favouring eye the Monastic System. Suf- 
ficient has been said in other parts of this Volume, 
to render the repetition of arguments against Mo- 
nastic ism superfluous. In one word, its tendency 
is, to keep Missionaries from the people and to 
themselves : or even if they should mingle with 
families, they must necessarily do so with reserve, 
neither exhibiting in themselves nor imbibing from 
others the spirit of the best domestic qualities. 
Their habits and their temper must be peculiar, and 
may very probably be unsocial. The walls of the 
Convent screen them from the corrective public eye: 
hither they may retreat, after a round of formal 
duties, and sink into mental ease and sloth and 
apathy. 

If such an Establishment is to consist of the union 
of several married Missionaries, it becomes some- 
thing like a Colony. This system has generally been 
resorted to in uncivilized countries, where it is ne- 
cessary to concentrate the means and the strength 
of the Missionary Settlement, with a view both to 
its subsistence and its security. In countries where 
there is civil protection, and regular trade furnish- 
ing all the necessaries of life, to congregate several 
Missionary Families in one place might be to dimi- 
nish the beneficial influence which they would dif- 
fuse, if separated ; hazarding, at the same time, 
those jealousies and quarrelings, which not unfre- 
quently are introduced by the Daemon of Discord, 
wherever he descries a family or a neighbourhood 
not at full stretch in doing good. 

The peculiar state of all Civil relations in Turkey 
may suggest a doubt, whether any great Establish- 



370 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

ment is likely to be very durable ; and, likewise, 
whether it may not be likely to incur expenses and 
vexations peculiar to itself. The Romish Convents 
have not only (as well as those of Native Christians) 
had repeatedly to pay great sums of money, but 
also to seek a very powerful patronage from the 
Ambassadors at Constantinople. 

Is there not, further, a hazard, that, when patro- 
nage is thus of necessity sought, it may be to be 
obtained only by making some compromise, which 
might prove a death-blow to some very essential 
part of a Missionary Undertaking? It is most critical, 
to be placed in circumstances, which may present a 
strong inducement to disavow any branch of the 
work of an Evangelist — to give, for example, so much 
as an understanding, that to confer with Mahome- 
dans is no part of our object — to say, in brief, what 
we may afterward wish unsaid. Such disclaimers 
may rest with intolerable weight on the conscience 
of those who give them ; and may transfuse into a 
Missionary Enterprise a very cramping, if not a 
ruinous, influence. May it not probably be the 
fact, that the Latin Convents in Syria have failed 
partly on this account ; so as to have come to that 
state, as now almost to exist on mere sufferance ? 
In proportion to the magnitude and pecuniary value 
of an Establishment in Turkey, might be the hazard 
of a pledge being required, limiting not merely the 
operations, but even the principles, and consequently 
the future prospects, of such an Establishment. 

The objects, which seem, in some degree, to need 
a fixed Establishment, are the following — to teach a 
School of Native Children — to receive Young Men, 
natives, truly pious ; but needing, after their con- 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 377 

version, further instruction, with a view to their be- 
coming helpers and Ministers of the Gospel — or to 
conduct the business of Printing, and keeping a 
Depdt of Bibles and Tracts. Of these three objects, 
the first may be accomplished by a single Missionary 
Family, as well as by many ; but such family must, 
in order to superintend a School with effect, be 
stationary: the second, if there should be many 
converted young men, would certainly require that 
a Missionary Preceptor should be generally fixed 
in one place, so that he may be referred to and 
known to be prosecuting this one great object, sur- 
rounded by a library and all other means requisite 
to give completeness to his instructions : the third 
would, probably, require the co-operation of seve- 
ral persons ; and would need, more than any thing 
else, to be a fixture. 

But, taking a general view of Missionary Opera- 
tions in the world, is the time come, or is it likely 
that for a few years longer it will have arrived, when 
considerable Establishments shall be seasonable for 
our Missions in Turkey ? Compare things accord- 
ing to their existing proportions : compare the 
amount of books, and the number of effective living 
preachers. There is an immense quantity of books 
prepared and preparing for the use of unconverted 
nations, in all languages ; but there are as yet very 
few Missionaries, expert at speaking these languages, 
and labouring in the work of preaching the Gospel 
among the Natives, publickly and from house to 
house. In this state of things, then, it is a fair con- 
sideration, into which of these two channels ought 
the tide of pecuniary contribution and of public 
opinion to be turned the more copiously. The 



378 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

question has a special reference to Western Asia. 
Whether is the complicated and powerful machinery 
of Missionary Institutions, or the simplicity of Oral 
Preaching, the more called for at present? It is not 
for me to give an opinion : different Nations, dif- 
ferent Societies, different Denominations of Chris- 
tians, and even different individuals of the same, 
will incline to opposite sentiments ; while some will 
aim at so modifying, as to combine, both objects. 
The benefit of there being many Societies is, that 
probably every measure of utility will, in turn, be 
accomplished to the full. In the meanwhile, I 
have aimed at giving some insight into the particulars 
of a subject, which has already excited much in- 
terest ; and which must, in process of time — perhaps 
within a short period — call on different Societies to 
make their decision. 

4. In whatever light the preceding remarks con- 
cerning Establishments may be viewed by different 
persons, all, who have visited the Levant or who 
have had opportunities of studying the relations 
of society in these regions, must be deeply per- 
suaded Of THE FITNESS OF THE TRAVELLING OR 

itinerant CHARACTER for the execution of a Mis- 
sion there. 

Let nothing which has been said against Monas- 
ticism, as a System, be considered to disparage the 
peculiar suitableness of unmarried men (all other 
circumstances being equal) for Apostolical Services 
throughout the whole of Turkey. Ought it not, 
however, to be laid down, in the first place, as a 
rule almost indispensable, that unmarried Missiona- 
ries should go forth two and two ? The mainte- 
nance of a devout and cheerful frame of mind seems 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 379 

to require this: the method adopted by our Lord 
himself (Luke x. 2.) goes near to prescribe it: and 
the general usage of St. Paul and the other Apostles 
serves peculiarly to recommend it. 

This being admitted, to the advantages of the 
single state as implied by St. Paul (freedom from 
secular cares, the exposing of a narrower front to 
the aim of the persecutor, and the superior facility 
of escape from his reach) we may add the following 
points worthy of consideration : the unmarried may 
freely take a more extensive range of journeys by 
sea and land ; nor are they tied down by the neces- 
sary rules of domestic order : a family must observe 
set hours, as nearly as possible ; but a single man 
may neglect his meals, may prolong his studies, or 
may, when need requires, continue his discourse or 
his conversation till midnight : a family must have 
separate rooms, and the children and servants must 
all know their place and keep it : the entrance of a 
stranger, which to the single man may be a welcome 
circumstance, may to a family be an intrusion : 
the talk of a promiscuous company would occasion 
distraction to the domestic circle, but, to .the un- 
married Evangelist, would afford the opportunity 
most desired by him for explaining the Gospel to 
them : one or two individuals, also, may with 
greater ease become inmates in a family for a 
season. 

Whoever has visited the Levant, and has remarked 
the peculiarly vacant, irregular, and listless habits of 
the natives — the way in which they saunter into a 
house ; and, generally, the houses are open all day 
long — their manner of loitering about a stranger, 
accompanying him, following him, listening to him, 



380 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

gazing at him — will not have failed to receive a far 
more vivid impression of Scripture Scenery, than an 
Englishman could possibly acquire in his own exact, 
busy, and well-ordered country. The crowds, who 
followed Jesus from far out of every city ; who staid 
with Him three days, till they had nothing to eat ; 
who so pressed upon Him at the house-door, that 
they trode one upon another, and even to that de- 
gree that he could not eat his food ; who, at another 
time, crowded him off from the shore, so that he 
was constrained to preach to them from a ship or 
boat ; who brought with them, in these excursions, 
wives and children, accounting little of time, fatigue, 
precarious livelihood^ and, what seems most material, 
domestic order — such crowds would again be as- 
sembled in the Holy Land, should competent Mis- 
sionaries be enabled to itinerate among them. And 
this being the genius of the country, is it probable 
that Missions will ever obtain great success among 
them, unless this method, as Avell as others, be 
systematically and skilfully adopted? 

5. This mode of Missionary Operations (by far 
the most important, in the Author's view of the 
present wants of the Levant) implies the possession 
of one qualification, which is not to be obtained 
without great industry, and a considerable sacrifice 
of time and spirits to a pursuit very uncongenial to 
the reasoning habits of an adult. It is, ability to 

DISCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES IN THEIR OWN LAN- 
GUAGE. It is superfluous to say, that this is an 
indispensable qualification. If the first miracle 
of the Day of Pentecost had not demonstrated 
this truth, common sense alone would suffice to 
prove it. 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 381 
To SPEAK, HEAD, AND UNDERSTAND ARABIC 
FLUENTLY AND WELL IS ESSENTIAL TO THE PRO- 
PER .CONDUCT OF A MISSION IN SYRIA AND PALES- 
TINE. This attainment, under ordinary circum- 
stances, is not the work of so short a period as five 
years ! The principal causes which occasion the 
slow progress of Missionaries in the study of Arabic 
have been observed to be the following : the actual 
difficulties of the language itself ; confessedly great 
even to a Native who speaks it ; much more so to 
the minds of Western Students, which have been 
moulded in a different idiom — the want of systematic 
Masters, who are not so easily to be had from among 
the Native Christians-— the necessity of attending to 
other languages — climate acting upon the constitu- 
tion, and interrupting the powers of mental applica- 
tion — the desire, so natural, and, indeed, the duty 
so expedient, of soon beginning to attempt, although 
in an imperfect manner, some kind of Missionary 
Work ; such as travelling, distributing the Scrip- 
tures, maintaining correspondence, occasionally 
preaching in our own language, keeping a School, 
&c. — to which may be added, in some cases, the 
habit of conversing in European Languages, with our 
own family or with Franks ; whereas he, who would 
learn Arabic, must be for months together in circum- 
stances where the mind can have no escape from 
Arabic Conversation and Reading : it cannot be 
learned, as young persons learn French, by giving 
an hour or even two hours a day to the study of it : 
not only the eye, the ear, the throat, the hand, the 
memory, but all the social and sympathetic affec- 
tions must be pledged and pressed into this hard 



382 NOTICES, REMARKS, AXP SUGGESTIONS. 

Oriental service. Elementary study of Arabic may 
very properly occupy some months in Europe; but 
it is by practice in the East, that the operative Mis- 
sionary must store his mind with the requisite copia 
verborum, and adapt his vocal organs to the fearful 
utterance of this language. Nor, after many years 
practice in Arabic, is a European to be trusted as a 
Translator : idiom, except by something approach- 
ing to miracle, he will never catch : that must be 
left for native minds : it will be sufficient for the 
Missionary to be able to write intelligibly : his style, 
however excellent, will never reach that degree of 
critical propriety which in written documents may 
fairly be required. 

6. The last remark, suggested to the mind by the 
review of former Missions, is one of exceedingly 
great importance ; and carries with itself so much 
weight, as to need but few words to express it : how 

STUDIOUSLY SHOULD MISSIONARIES AIM AT IMPRESS- 
ING ON THE MINDS OF ALL AROUND THEM, THAT 
THEY COME, NOT TO MAKE A PARTY, BUT SOLELY 
TO PROMOTE THE GOOD OF THOSE AMONG WHOM 
THEY EXERCISE THEIR OFFICE.' 

If Mahomedans, or Jews, or the Christians of 
various Denominations in the East, perceive a man 
labouring among them, under (I will not say the 
bias of evil passions or selfish interests, but under) 
the bias of a strong predilection for his own Nation, 
his own Government, or his own Communion ; they 
will so far regard him as a man seeking to make 
converts to his own favourite opinions or habits. 
Giving ground for a suspicion like this, he will 
greatly diminish his usefulness 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 383 

An Englishman needs only to reflect on the 
temper of many of his own countrymen, in order to 
understand how fatally preconceived partialities 
operate, to keep men from commencing or main- 
taining a mutual good-understanding. With what 
difficulty is a man of one party persuaded, that his 
welfare is sincerely wished by a person of another ; 
or, as our common parlance is, by a person of an 
opposite party ! How soon does a slight degree of 
acquaintance satisfy such persons ! Intimacy and 
cordiality seem to them neither attainable, nor to be 
desired. 

And such will be the coldness subsisting between 
a Missionary and those to whom he is sent, unless 
he aim at attaching their feelings to something higher 
than his Mission — to Christianity itself ! His very 
coming implies that he thinks them some way in the 
wrong : his conversations declare this sentiment 
more plainly : their feelings are, consequently, his 
natural enemies ; only to be overcome, to use the 
emphatic words of Scripture, with good: (Rom. 
xii. 21.) But it must be good of the purest and 
most unmixed nature. However excellent may be 
the institutions of his own Nation, the character of 
his Countrymen, or the professed faith of his own 
Communion, these do not furnish that plenitude of 
good, which ought to fill his whole soul, and over- 
flow from his heart to theirs. It must be the 
preaching of the Bible, not of his own Creed : the ge- 
nuine benignity of the Christian Religion, not the 
integrity alone of his National Character : rather, it 
must be the very mind which was in Christ dwelling 
within him, which will alone persuade the natives of 



384 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS* 

the East that the visitor from the West has traversed 
land and sea altogether and exclusively for their 
benefit. 

Past Missions, especially those which have been 
alluded to in this Chapter, assist us very little — too 
often, indeed, they hinder us — in our endeavours to 
acquire just ideas of what a Christian Mission should 
be. Churches, in form far purer than that of Rome, 
have yet, in spirit, long lived — and many of their 
members still live — in vain-glory, worldly-minded- 
ness, and selfishness. In various degrees it may be 
said, All seek their own ; not the things that are 
Jesus Christ's. We must rise to the contemplation 
of primitive times : we must reflect what that was, 
which could induce such a man as St. Paul to suffer 
the loss of all things : our minds must travel with 
the other Apostles, and form a lively image of their 
labours among Jews and Greeks, among Barbarians 
and Scythians, among every class and condition of 
our suffering and sinful fellow- creatures. How did 
they persuade their hearers, that they sought their 
happiness ? not by extolling one another, or by cele- 
brating Jerusalem as the Mother-Church, or by de- 
manding in an assuming manner the faith or respect 
of the various cities which they visited : but by 
preaching Christ crucified ; by being like their 
Master: and by holding up the same common 
standard, for themselves and for all with whom they 
had to do — Be ye followers of us, even as we also are 
of Christ. Such simplicity and lowliness of mind, 
such disinterestedness, fidelity, and affection, the 
Churches of Christ, now almost for the first time 
entering upon extensive Missions, greatly need ; and, 



EVANGELIZING AND EDUCATION. 385 

whenever these graces shall be poured in a large 
measure on their Members and their Missionaries, 
then may they expect to see the multitude of the 
Gentiles flowing toward them, and collecting to- 
gether with them, under the standard of the Re- 
deemer ! 



c c 



( 386 ) 
CRITICAL AND DEVOUT STUDY 

OF THE 

HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

To understand fully the sense of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, requires diligent study, and a considerable 
degree of mental cultivation. To obtain an experi- 
mental feeling of their spiritual application, requires 
the submitting of the heart, in prayer, to the teaching 
of that Divine Spirit, by whose inspiration all Scrip- 
ture was given ; without whose influence, the most 
knowing and accomplished Scholar must remain in 
ignorance : for the natural man receivetk not the 
things of the Spirit of God. (1 Cor. ii. 14.) 

Neither of these two qualifications — the critical 
understanding and the spiritual feeling of the Scrip- 
tures — should be wanting in a Minister or in a Mis- 
sionary. Without a spiritual sense of Divine Truth, 
so far from being qualified to teach, he has, as yet, 
the most important of all things to learn : without 
critical knowledge, although he may in most essen- 
tial things speak feelingly, he is still very scantily 
qualified to be a safe teacher. 

There are several points of view, in which the 
magnitude of this subject has deeply impressed the 
Authors mind : he will endeavour to lay them be- 
fore the reader. 

In reference to that qualification of a Missionary, 
so clearly expressed by St. Paul, apt to teach, it is 
hardly possible, that, in its full extent, it should be 
possessed, either by an illiterate or by an irreverent 
person. To declare all the counsel of God — what 



STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 887 

less can this require, than an enlarged and enlight- 
ened heart, to comprehend the Divine Counsels as 
revealed in the Sacred Writings ? Are the subjects 
of man's corruption, his justification by the merits of 
Christ, his sanctification inseparably connected with 
a justified state, his privileges and duties interwoven, 
all his spiritual warfare and the mystery of the work 
of the Spirit — or the subjects of the evidences for 
the truth of Christianity, the nature of the Divine 
Attributes and Government, the various relations of 
life, with the consequent dev elopement of the grand 
relative duties — are all these to be easily learned ? 
or, with less than a competent acquaintance with 
them all, can the man of God be regarded as tho- 
roughly furnished unto all good works ? 

When the difficulty of conversing in a foreign 
language is considered, the magnitude of the Mis- 
sionary's duty in this respect is still further seen ; 
for he has not only to comprehend the meaning of 
Scriptural expressions in the original tongues and in 
his own, but to be careful that he transfuses accu- 
rately this meaning into the language of the people 
to whom he is sent. If we contemplate a further 
case, which it is most desirable that a Missionary 
should be prepared to meet, namely, his being 
called upon to superintend Translations of the 
Scriptures or of Religious Tracts, he will then more 
strongly feel the indispensable necessity of critical 
and studious habits. 

Yet all this degree of literary acquirement should 
exist in most Missionary Spheres (and it will not be 
well till it is thus found in all) united with active 
habits of conversation and preaching. It is mani- 
fest, therefore, that the great foundation of Biblical 

c c 2 



388 NOTICES, REMARKS, AXD SUGGESTION'S. 

Studies ought to be well laid, before a Missionary 
goes forth to his Station. His future studies and 
labours will thenceforth go on hand in hand, mutu- 
ally aiding each other. He will not, indeed, be 
perfect in either ; but he will be a practical profi- 
cient in both : which is much better than to be either 
a profound, but unprofitable, scholar ; or a superfi- 
cial man, ready of utterance and enterprising in 
action, but of mind unfurnished and uncultivated. 

How many in England, who have been educated 
piously, have frequently, for a considerable time, 
limited their studies to the simple text of Scripture; 
reading continually and frequently such favourite pas- 
sages or books as they have found most conducive 
to their edification ! As they have advanced to the 
period when, on undertaking the Ministerial Office, 
it becomes necessary to know more and even to com- 
pose Sermons, still their studies have been of a very 
confined and superficial nature. Popular Authors of 
the day, together with one or two Periodical Reviews 
considered by them as standard, and a few fugitive 
controversial pieces, have sometimes constituted the 
range of study taken by worthy and zealous men ; 
while the weekly demands of the Pulpit on a Mi- 
nister in England are not always such as to detect 
the negligences of the Study. This temptation to 
superficial reading is peculiarly incident to persons 
situated in a country sphere. 

But, in a Foreign Station, a man will discover 
how difficult it is to teach persons who are possessed 
of neither knowledge nor docility ; whose habits, 
moreover, render them strange to us as teachers, 
and us as strange to them. In dealing with such 
characters, however, there is no book so suitable, 



STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 389 

with which to begin, continue, and end our instruc- 
tions, as the Bible. It is the only book of which 
we can say, that it is full of wisdom and speaks 
directly to the conscience. When rightly and judi- 
ciously used, there is something in it which meets 
every case : it enlightens the eyes, and makes wise 
the simple. 

We may venture to assert, consequently, that one 
of the highest Missionary Acquirements, to which 
human talent, aided by Divine Grace, can attain, is 
that of expounding to a promiscuous company the 
truths of the Bible, in the spirit of the Bible. This 
is a gift, however, not obtained without real exertion, 
It requires patient good sense, exercised in the 
proper meaning of words, in the history of facts 
and opinions, and in the characters of men : it re- 
quires a spirit of prayer, integrity of conscience, 
self-knowledge, and a devout habit of self-applica- 
tion in the regular private use of Scripture. 

This is pre-eminently a qualification, to the acqui- 
sition of which every Missionary should be recom- 
mended to bend his constant studies. The habit of 
topical preaching, as it is called, that is, composing 
a Sermon on some one text or subject, has its pecu- 
liar advantages, as it respects both the Minister and 
his Congregation. It is principally adapted, how- 
ever, for stated home-purposes : in the conduct of a 
Mission, it is of unspeakably greater importance to 
be able to give, fully, yet accurately, an exposition 
of a considerable portion of Scripture ; explaining 
with sufficient distinctness the various parts, and 
comprehensively setting forth the principal bearings 
of the whole. From ten to twenty or fifty verses, 
according to the nature of the passage, will generally 



390 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

furnish matter — on some occasions, for fundamental 
doctrinal or practical statements ; on others, for 
lively historical illustration ; on others, for cherish- 
ing the Christian Graces ; and, on others, for en- 
larging the prospects and stimulating the activity of 
Christians. The superior advantage of this prac- 
tice is, that to the ignorant and unenlightened a 
greater quantity of pure Scripture Truth may thus 
be exhibited. And, supposing the expounder not 
to allow himself to fall into a loose, desultory, com- 
mon-place method of talking, but to make his 
exposition a business of previous study, he, on his 
part, will soon discover that this practice greatly 
requires, and will amply repay, the closest applica- 
tion of the mind. 

A Scriptural Exposition of this kind will never 
degenerate into the dryness and coldness of a Cri- 
tical or Ethical Lecture, if (addressed, as we un- 
derstand it to be, to the Heathen, or even to better- 
instructed foreigners) it should occasionally be in- 
terrupted by questions, or by description. 

Missionaries are, at present, generally embar- 
rassed with the toil, either of travelling, or of learn- 
ing or fixing new languages, or even of preparing 
in the midst of rude and uncivilized society a fit 
habitation and needful supplies for themselves. In 
this respect, many of the present generation are 
hewers of wood and drawers of Hater to those of the 
next. Happy will it be, when Missionaries shall 
have obtained sufficient freedom from these pre- 
liminary cares, to allow of their giving themselves 
entirely to the ministry of the icord and prayer — 
occupying themselves, from house to house, daily, 
in this manner, with small and casual parties ; 



STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 391 

without waiting for the formality of meeting a large 
and stated assembly. 

The Author here takes occasion to repeat the 
hint, which he threw out in the course of his Anni- 
versary Sermon before the Church Missionary So- 
ciety in the year 1821 ; concerning the necessity of 
having, in foreign languages, good Commentaries on 
the Bible ; and standard Works of critical, as well 
as of experimental, Divinity. 

The direct advantages of this study of the Scrip- 
tures, with a view to habits of free and profitable 
exposition, have been the more fully delineated, on 
account of the circumstance already alluded to ; 
namely, the secular and literary interruptions inci- 
dent to many Missionaries of the present age. 

Some of the collateral benefits of the course 
recommended may now be briefly stated. 

1. Missionaries will naturally desire to be the 
instruments of raising up Native Teachers ; who 
may, when duly qualified, become Ministers of the 
Gospel to their countrymen: but if it requires 
a thorough study of the Scriptures, in order to teach 
hearers in general, so that we may not be found 
guilty of handling the Sacred Oracles presumptu- 
ously, or of misleading a multitude through our ig- 
norance or imperfect knowledge ; how much more 
is a critical and devout knowledge of the Bible re- 
quisite, for those who have to train and form Can- 
didates for the Sacred Office ! It is a task of such 
awful magnitude, that the heart is ready to sink 
under the thought of it. How should the Word of 
Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom! What 
attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, does 
this prospect claim from the Missionary ; when he 



392 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

reflects that many younger Ministers, like Timothy 
and Titus, may, in course of time, look up to him 
as their Instructor and Father in Christ! 

2. The Author, in common with many others, 
has viewed with the liveliest interest the great aug- 
mentation of Protestant Missionaries in the coun- 
tries of the Mediterranean. It is nearly ten years 
since he was appointed to this sphere. Shortly 
before that period, there had been one English Mis- 
sionary, who, after a brief residence in Malta, died 
of a pulmonary complaint; and also one German 
Missionary, who, in a very little time, withdrew from 
his undertaking, and retired to his native coun- 
try. Subsequently, the number of Missionaries and 
Bible Society agents, who have been actively en- 
gaged in the Mediterranean, has amounted to about 
twenty-two, of whom several have families : the 
greater part of these remain in their Stations ; two 
or three only having retired, and others having been 
removed by death. They represent not fewer than 
Seven Protestant Societies. 

As might be expected from undertakings in their 
nascent state, the various Missionaries have acted, 
so far as the Author has had opportunity to know, 
generally in a spirit of harmony and good- will : not 
ignorant, indeed, of various differences of opinion, 
which subsist among themselves and among the 
various Denominations or Societies to which they 
belong ; but, with a wise forbearance, losing sight 
of these minor considerations in the magnitude of 
their respective engagements ; or merging them in 
the fulness of that Christian Affection, which usually 
abounds in the earlier periods of enterprise. 

]t is not, perhaps, much to be feared, but that 



STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 393 

this harmonious state may yet, for many years, con- 
tinue to subsist. But there is an Enemy, who views 
it with bitter malice, and is on the watch to mar it 
in the first moment that he shall be permitted. All 
the questions, which in ancient or modern times 
have distracted the Church, the great Author of 
Confusion would gladly bring before the Missiona- 
ries and their respective friends — bring them, too, 
in such a manner, as might stir up many malignant 
and disquieting passions. Divided opinions on 
matters of Church Government, and various public 
measures — disputes about doctrines of baptisms, 
and laying on of hands — excessive attachment to 
human names and human creeds — discussions, even 
to strife, concerning essential points ; such as Rege- 
neration, Justification, and Sanctifi cation — literary 
contentions concerning Versions of the Scriptures 
and other books — angry partialities relating to in- 
terpretations of the unaccomplished prophetic wri- 
tings — and, in brief, (as the number of individuals 
or families, and, consequently, their amount of pro- 
perty, increases,) murmurings at neglect or misma- 
nagement, in the daily or yearly ministrations : all 
these, together with corrupt livtng, may possibly 
enter! Once entered, it is not according to human- 
nature that they should speedily retire. The con- 
sequences of strife, heresy, and party-spirit are too 
truly depicted in one expression of St. Paul — Evil 
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiv- 
ing and being deceived. 

It is in the contemplation of such possible evils, 
that the mind sees an appointed counteracting prin- 
ciple, in the critical and devout study of the Holy 
Scriptures. It seems to have been peculiarly im- 



394 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

pressed on the Apostle's view, that this was the 
most effectual remedy : he follows up, therefore, 
his denunciation of foolish and unlearned questions, 
with this practical charge to his beloved Timothy : — 
JBat continue thou in the things which thou hast 
learned, and hast been assw*ed of, knowing of ivhom 
thou hast learned them ; and that from a child thou 
hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to 
make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is 
in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspira- 
tion of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for re- 
proof for col lection, for instruction in righteousness ; 
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works. (2 Tim. hi. 14 — 17.) 

3. It may be noticed, as one remaining advan- 
tage of a sound knowledge of the Scriptures, that 
not only will it rescue Missionaries from that scorn, 
which has by many been thrown on Protestants, on 
the ground of the abuse of private judgment ; but it 
may also become the powerful means of extensively 
recommending the grand principles of the suffi- 
ciency of the Holy Scriptures for our salvation, and 
the universal right of mankind to the free reading of 
them. 

Those Christian Churches which have been go- 
verned according to the principles of intolerance, 
are accustomed to look on Protestantism as the 
profession of an undefinable, fickle, and half-unbe- 
lieving mass of people, split into numerous factions, 
and capable of carrying their schisms to an unli- 
mited length. All this they regard as inevitably 
arising from allowing individuals to think for them- 
selves. We reply, that wherever such evils exist 
among Protestants, they spring from the abuse of 



STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 395 

that liberty. Our answer, however, entails upon us 
another consideration, commensurate at least with 
the magnitude of the alleged abuse : it is this — ' ' In 
what way, then, may private judgment be safely 
used?" We scruple not to answer — " In the Criti- 
cal and Devout Study of Holy Scripture." We 
have no other standard than Scripture, by which to 
guide ourselves and others. Rome, it is true, has 
decided for a living judge ; who, to be finally autho- 
ritative, must, of necessity, be accounted infallible : 
but with this fiction we can have nothing to do : it 
is unfounded in Revelation ; and, upon long expe- 
rience, it has failed of success. But, if Protestants 
unite in regarding the Bible as their common stan- 
dard, they must study the Bible — they must live in 
the spirit of the Bible. Thus may they expect, not- 
withstanding the great infirmities of human judg- 
ment and human temper, not merely that their 
Missions in the Mediterranean shall be preserved 
free from every cause of reasonable reproach ; but, 
that they will be distinguished by their exemplary 
spirit of union, and be rendered effective instru- 
ments of converting multitudes to the knowledge 
and love of the Gospel. 



396 



THE BIBLE SOCIETY : 
ITS PRINCIPLES, OPERATIONS, AND EXTENSION. 



The Bible Society being a kind of central standard, 
by which the opinions and measures of many So- 
cieties and individuals are, and long will continue 
to be, influenced, it may be useful to delineate 
somewhat in detail the several principles on which 
the Bible Society is established. In proportion as 
each is developed and distinctly marked, different 
persons will, according to the gifts bestowed upon 
them, take up that department which he can best 
cultivate. That Noble Institution, worthy of all 
praise and of all aid, will, when its various compo- 
nent parts shall each of them be efficiently sup- 
ported, stretch forth its munificent hands, scattering 
over the face of the habitable globe a larger mea- 
sure of blessings than has ever yet been known by 
mankind. 

Not with any desire to excite needless offence, 
but from the necessity which exists for correcting 
or repelling such offences, we purpose, at each suc- 
ceeding step of the following argument, to state 
those principles, which operate to counteract or to 
retard the work of the Bible Society. 

1. The first and most essential principle is, the 

DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

If it were not the fact that the Bible was written 
by men moved bij the Holy Ghost, we should have 



BlliLE SOCIETY. S97 

no ground oil which to stand, better than mere hu- 
man opinion. But when our faith in the being and 
attributes of God is accompanied with the convic- 
tion that this Holy Volume is His own Revelation 
of His will, so far as He intended us to know that 
will here on earth, our reverence for this Book must 
exceed our reverence for any thing else existing in 
the world. 

How deeply, then, are they to be pitied, who, 
under the darkness of Paganism, or the blindness 
of Judaism, or the illusions of M ah ome danism, or 
the madness of Infidelity, reject or resist this Vo- 
lume of Truth ! How high is the obligation, which 
rests on all true Christians, to establish the evi- 
dences of the Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures ; 
accompanying all their proofs with the persuasive 
example of personal piety ! 

2. The Bible Society implies, further, the prin- 
ciple Of THE SUFFICIENCY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE FOR 

salvation : for, if any thing were admitted to be 
deficient, it ought to be supplied ; and thus Note 
and Comment would be introduced, contrary to the 
fundamental rule of the Society. No censure is 
passed on Notes, as being useless ; but they are 
omitted, as being not essential ; the Scriptures 
containing in themselves all things necessary to sal- 
vation. 

It is on this fundamental principle, that a large 
body of professing Christians are at variance with 
the Bible Society. The doctrine of Oral Traditions, 
handed down continually in the Church, and equal 
in value with the Scripture ; the lex non scripta, as 
well as lex scripta — and the doctrine of the perpe- 
tual Inspiration of the Holy Ghost, conveyed to a 



398 NOTICES, REMARKS; AND SUGGESTIONS. 

certain body of men, congregated after a particular 
manner, under a certain visible head (although it is 
much controverted among themselves, whether that 
individual at the head does of himself speak in- 
spired things, or whether the head and the whole 
body together be the organ of inspiration) — these 
two dogmas, namely, the necessity of Oral Tradi- 
tions, and the Divine Inspiration and unerring Au- 
thority either of the Bishop of Rome or of a Council 
assembled under his directions, are wholly neglected 
and passed over by the Bible Society. But these 
are dogmas, which Rome feels to be essential to the 
maintenance of her high pretensions in the world : 
she has, consequently, not been backward to dis- 
play her resentment at the operations of so great, so 
nobly patronized, and so efficient an Institution. 

Let Rome, however, be judged of by mankind, 
according to her own strict principle. Agreeably 
to this, the lexscripta is, in truth, not what we term 
the Holy Scriptures merely ; but, together with 
them, the Acts at least of the first Seven General 
Councils, and of the Council of Trent: not less 
than this total amount is their bible. In addition 
to this, it is impossible for any man to divine what 
may, at a future period, be declared binding by a 
Council similar to that assembled at Trent. The 
opening clause of the 28th verse of Acts, ch. xv. 
is the principle which was arrogated by that Coun- 
cil ; and the construction put on that expression by 
every genuine Romanist secures a privilege, at 
which the World might tremble — the privilege of 
legislating as Gods. 

3. The Bible Society virtually implies, and really 
acts upon, the principle of the right of all men 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 390 

to read the scitiPTUiiEs. For, since all ought to 
have a knowledge of the will of God, and the Bible 
contains an all-sufficient revelation of His will, and 
reading is one of the methods of knowing these 
contents of the Scripture, it follows, that, for the 
promotion of the universal knowledge of God's will, 
one of the most efficient methods is the universal 
reading of the Bible. 

Although, in contravention of this principle, there 
be nowhere laid down by any Church the broad 
declaration, that the people are not allowed to read 
the Scriptures ; and although the utmost that is 
censured by the Council of Trent be, the " indis- 
criminate reading" of the Bible : yet, in practice, it 
is well known, that, in various Papal Countries, 
there exists a feeling diametrically hostile to the free 
circulation of the Scriptures. The principle avowed 
is, the exclusive right of the Priesthood to inter- 
pret Scripture. But what should hinder the Priest, 
when he has expounded a Chapter of the Bible, 
from putting that Chapter, printed, into the hands 
of his hearers ; so that they may, by perusing it at 
home, refresh their memories ? And, in like man- 
ner, what should hinder him, while expounding the 
whole Bible, from putting into their hands a printed 
Bible, in order that their attention to the text and 
their hearing of the interpretation may go hand in 
hand ? A Priesthood, acting according to the 
Bible, would certainly desire this ; and from no 
Priesthood, thinking or acting otherwise, would it 
be expedient for the Bible Society to take counsel*. 

* From a celebrated work of a Dignitary of the Russian Church, 
Archbishop Platow, it is gratifying to observe, that the withholding of 
the Scriptures from the people is no part of the character of that Church ; 
ae the proceedings of the Russian Bible Society have since most abun- 
dantly 



400 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

4. A further principle implied in the very term 
" Holy Scriptures," is, that they are those books 

dantly evinced. At the same time, the Western Protestant Churches 
receive a censure, which partly is too severe, and partly is by no 
means to their discredit. It is certain, that, in proportion as the ope- 
rations of the Bible Society — under which term may be comprised a 
thousand Associations all one in principle — shall bring Christian 
Churches acquainted with one another, they will learn to respect one 
another more ; for they will become more zealous, more enlightened, 
and more sound in all fundamental points. 

With this preliminary remark, the Author ventures to quote the 
following passage from Archbishop Platow; the tenor of which is 
favourable to the general circulation of the Scriptures, although it 
presses hard on those Churches which are not of the Greek Commu- 
nion. Speaking of the properties of the True Church, he observes — 
" Hence this Church only cuts off all those, who either do not re- 
ceive the Word of God, or mix their own improper opinions with it : 
therefore the Society of such people is not a Church, but an assembly 
holding heterodox opinions, which is governed by the spirit of divi- 
sion, and not by the Spirit of God. Even at the present time, to 
the offence of Christians, we behold three chief sects or parties in 
Christianity ; Papists, Lutherans, and Calvinists. They are mutu- 
ally in opposition to one another. Popery, exclusive of its being 
filled with the most pernicious superstitions and the edicts of Popes, 
in contradiction to the Word of God, blindly holds the tenet in re- 
gard to the proceeding of the Holy Ghost above-mentioned, and ex- 
plains it in opposition to the clear testimony of Holy Scripture. It 
has also taken away from the common people the cup in the Commu- 
nion, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures 

41 The Lutherans and Calvinists dissented, not long ago, from 
Popeiy, under Luther and Calvin; whom passion, more than any 
thing else, excited to this novelty. They, in avoiding Popish super- 
stitions and superfluities, threw away, together with them, the holy 
Apostolical traditions of the first Churches." 

The Archbishop candidly acknowledges afterward, that there are 
some defects among the individuals of the Greek-Russian Church. 
" Among those who hold to our Church," he observes, " there may 
exist a certain kind of superstition and abuse ; but our Church does 
not justify such improprieties : she rather mourns over them, reproves 
and corrects them." 

In the Chapter entitled, " Of Traditions and Ceremonies," he 
speaks of these in a manner which shews that he does not attach to 
them any idea of divine virtue : in fact, he treats of Ceremonies 
only, and not of what the Church of Rome entitles Traditions, in- 
cluding faith as well as practice. The Archbishop produces simply 

a few 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 401 
WHICH, ON GOOD EVIDENCE, ARE PROVED TO HAVE 
BEEN OF DIVINE INSPIRATION. 

The usual term by which this has been expressed, 
is, the canonical Books of the Old and New 
Testament*. The Books commonly called Apocry- 
phal have no good evidence, either external or in- 
ternal, to demonstrate them to have been divinely in- 
spired ; while there is much of both kinds of evi- 
dence on the contrary sidef. 

a few Ecclesiastical Rites as examples of Traditions and Ceremonies. 
" In the Church," he observes, "there are many Ceremonies, which have 
descended from the days of the Apostles themselves, or were instituted 
by their immediate successors, and have been observed by all holy an- 
tiquity; and, though our salvation does not consist in them, yet they 
possess their own share of usefulness, and we are bound with all due 
respect to observe them. Such, for instance, are the traditions follow- 
ing r" — then are specified, the use of splendid sacerdotal garments, the 
burning of candles in the Churches, the use of incense, the sign of the 
Cross, the consecration of waters, the veneration of pictures, and the 
observing of holidays. " These," he adds, " and such like Ceremonies, 
our Church preserveth holy : however, she disclaimeth all superstition, 
that is, such Traditions as are contrary to the Word of God, and un- 
known in holy antiquity." (Pirikertons State of the Greek Church in 
Russia: pp. 161—163, and 194—196.) 

From the last-quoted passage, there is sufficient ground to believe, 
that, in proportion as the Oriental Churches shall become generally 
enlightened as to the relative merits of Divine Scripture and Apostoli- 
cal Tradition, they will universally acknowledge the value of Tradi- 
tion to be evanescent, in comparison with the worth of Scripture. Not 
so the Romish Church, which has placed both upon a par. " Omnes 

libros tarn Veteris quam Novi Testamenti necnon Traditiones 

ipsas, turn ad fidem, turn ad mores pertinentes, tanquam vel oretenus 
a Christo, vel Spiritu Sancto dictatas, et continua successione in 
Ecclesia Catholica conservatas, pari pietatis affectu ac reverentia 
suscipit et veneratur." 

{Acta Cone. Tridentini, Sessio IV. 8 April 1546.) 

* Vide Article Vlth of the Church of England. 

t The question of the Apocryphal Writings is introduced by Leslie, 
in his acute Dissertation on " Private Judgment and Authority," 
where the state of that part of the controversy is thus represented, in 
the Dialogue supposed to be held between a Roman Catholic and a 
Church-of-England man. 

1) D « Rom. 



402 NOTICES, HEMAKKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

5. Another principle for which the Bible Society 
is responsible, is the maintenance, as nearly as 

" Rom. Cath. — After all you have said, how do you know the Ca- 
nonical Books of Scripture, but by the Authority of the Church ? 

" Ch. Eng. — Not at all by her Authority, but by her Evidence. 
There is a great difference : I pray you to consider it. There were 
false Gospels and false Epistles inscribed to several of the Apostles, 
set up by the Heretics in the first age ; and they were detected in that 
same age, while the Originals of what the Apostles wrote were still in 
being. But the Heretics could not produce the Originals of theirs ; 
nor did their copies agree with one another, as Eusebius tells us : 
(Hist. lib. v. cap. 28.) And this was not deciding the matter by au- 
thority, but by plain evidence of a fact, as of any other forgery or sup- 
posititious wiiting. 

" But you state the matter so, as if there were a Heap of Papers, 
of many hundred years past — some genuine, some spurious, all con- 
fusedly thrown together ; and that it were left to the Church to dis- 
tinguish these by her Authority; and that we were obliged so to 
receive them, without knowing any more of the matter, and had 
nothing but her Authority to trust to. But this, Sir, is far from being 
the case. The Canon of the Scripture was settled at the time, when it 
could be done by full evidence, and the notoriety of the thing was 
well known to all : and we have received it down from that time, in 
copies so universally spread through the Christian World, that it is 
impossible to add or detract from it, without a general detection of the 
forgery by all Churches. And this has preserved the Canon of the New 
Testament so entire, that there is no difference about it between you 
and us, or any other Christian Church. 

" It is true, indeed, we differ with you as to the Canon of the Old 
Testament. But we have the Jews on our side for this, who never 
received those Books, we call Apocryphal, into their Canon. They 
were not wrote in their language, at least most of them. And I 
might bring in the Jew again to reason the case with you, how you 
came to understand their Canon better than themselves, who were in 
possession of it many hundred years before Christianity, and were so 
careful as to number the very letters. 

" But I will not prolong this, nor enter into the particular disputes 
between your Church and ours ; my business being now only to con- 
sider the foundation principle of the Authority of the Church, upon 
which all the rest depend. I will only say this further as to these 
Apocryphal Books, that St. Jerome, in his Prologus Galeatus, printed 
before all your Vulgar Latin Bibles that I have seen, excludes 
all these by name out of the Canon, and says the Church did so too. 
And we may suppose that so learned a Father, who had himself 
translated the Scriptures, knew what the Church received in his time. 

And 



BIBLE SOCIETY, 403 
POSSIBLE, OF A PURE AND ORIGINAL TEXT. The 

effort to give the Word of God to all mankind brings 
this subject forward as one of great importance. 

Three languages, the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, 
have acquired, in the eyes of various nations, an 
almost sacred character, from being the earliest 
vehicles, now extant, of the Holy Scriptures — the 
Latin entirely, and the Greek partly, in translations ; 
the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New 
Testament, as originals. To these may be added 
the Syriac. 

It is well known by Biblical Philologists, that 
there are considerable discrepancies between the 
Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek Version of it 
by the LXX. ; as also between the Original Texts of 
the Old and New Testaments and the Latin Version 
of them entitled the Vulgate*. 

In the midst of these Varies Lectiones, it has been 
hitherto judged the wisest practical measure to print 
for every country the Version most esteemed by it, 
whether it were according to the Original, the Sep- 
tuagint, or the Vulgate. The discrepancies, however 



And it seems strange to me, that such a flagrant testimony against 
you should stand in the front of your own Bibles. But if you would 
have further satisfaction as to this point, I refer you to Bishop Cosin's 
elaborate £ History of the Canon of the Scriptures,' which has not 
been answered by any of your Church, that I hear of ; for it seems to 
cany demonstration along with it, proceeding wholly upon fact, and 
giving vouchers in abundance." 

(Leslie on Private Judgment, SfC Section xti.) 

* On the question, whether the Text of the Scriptures has suf- 
fered any material corruption, the reader may derive the greatest 
satisfaction from the perusal of an article by Professor Lee, in his 
Appendix to the " Persian Controversies ;" where the argument is 
exhibited in the most full and luminous manner. Vide Chapter II. 
pp. 474—533. 

1) D 2 



404 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

numerous, are not in kind so dangerous as to 
shake any vital point of Revealed Religion. Viewing, 
therefore, the importance, on the one side, of giving 
speedily and universally the knowledge of the Scrip- 
tures, partly according to the Originals, and partly 
according to accepted and competent Versions ; 
and, on the other side, the extremely small hazard of 
compromising the integrity of Scripture ; it might 
fairly be asked, Would it have been right to pause, 
and defer the promulgation of the Bible, till man- 
kind should have agreed on a Uniform Text — a 
thing, practically speaking, neither attainable nor 
essential ? The more rational course has been taken : 
the Original Scriptures, the Septuagint, and the 
Vulgate, have all been used by the Bible Society. 
And, from this very policy, the following great benefit 
will arise — as the multitude of persons interested 
and skilled in Biblical Criticism will thus certainly 
increase in Britain, in France, in Germany, in Rus- 
sia, in Greece, in the Indies, and in the New World, 
a stronger stimulus will be communicated to their 
researches after a pure and standard Text ; the in- 
correct points of each received Text will be dis- 
cerned and acknowledged ; and the Bible will thus 
attain, in every part of the world, a character, which 
no other book merits or could possibly acquire — 
that of having been tried, again and again, in the 
severest furnace of criticism, and having ever been 
found to be, in its essential character, pure as the 
purest gold. 

6. With regard, however, to New Versions of the 
Scriptures, the Bible Society stands in a different 
situation. In adopting Ancient Translations, which 
were made or copied under disadvantages beyond 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 405 

the reach of present controul, we may well bear 

with those inaccuracies, 

quas aut incuria fudit, 

Aut humana parum cavit natura. — 

But, in an age blest with so much liberty of biblical 
investigation, and supplied with such ample materials 
of every description of literature, it may justly be 
required that new versions should be executed 

WITH THE UTMOST ADVANTAGES THAT CAN BE HAD. 

These, therefore, the Bible Society endeavours to 
attain, by putting into activity all persons who can 
in any way contribute to the great end. The claims 
preferred by the Bible Society may justly challenge 
the attention of the most learned, devoted, opu- 
lent, and influential Churches, Universities, Insti- 
tutions, and Individuals : with them it rests to do 
the greatest possible act of justice and of bene- 
volence, by accurately translating the Word of 
God, in all languages, for the use of the whole hu- 
man race. 

Nor has the plea been made in vain. The most 
distinguished patronage has been already given to 
this object, in every country of the earth, excepting 
those over which the long night of ignorance, super- 
stition, and intolerance still hovers, reluctant to 
disperse. Myriads of free hearts, accomplished 
minds, and holy spirits are, at once, the willing 
agents and the intrepid guardians of the principles 
of the Bible Society. 

Of the immense toil which attends the work of 
translating the Scriptures, however, none can possi- 
bly form an adequate idea who have not been 
actually engaged in it. The two parts of this work 
are obvious : it requires the understanding of the 



400 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGG EST IONS. 

sense of the Original ; and an acquaintance with the 
idiom of the vernacular tongue into w hich the trans- 
lation is made. These two branches present diffi- 
culties which cannot be met, generally, by fewer 
than two persons. It were well that every Version 
should have, if possible, the aid of many more. 

It is to learned individuals and to learned works, 
that recourse must be had for an opinion on ques- 
tions of Biblical Criticism : it is to natives, that we 
must look for the true idiom of a foreign language. 

How vastly superior will a converted and pious 
Native Translator be, in comparison with one who 
is not pious ! Not merely will his heart be in the 
work, but he will possess a more spiritual apprehen- 
sion of the true sense of Scripture. Especially, it 
may be remarked, the Epistolary Writings of the 
New Testament will, perhaps, never be well trans- 
lated, except under the superintendence and with 
the aid of pious and well-instructed persons. 

It is not every objection, nor indeed is it many 
and powerful literary objections, that should be 
admitted as condemnatory of anew Version, provided 
no fundamental doctrine is shaken : before, however, 
a Version is generally allow ed and highly sanctioned, 
it ought to have the best recommendations which 
the nature of the case admits. 

Objections have been made, in different ages, to 
Versions of the Bible by persons who were enemies 
either to the Bible itself or to its general circula- 
tion. The fairest reply to this class of objectors 
is, to put them on the duty of pointing out and 
amending what they think to be faulty. Refusing 
to do this, they betray their hostile principles : for 
no person, desirous that the Bible should be univer- 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 407 

sally read, would hesitate to give his best assistance 
to its being faithfully and well translated*. 

* At the glorious period of the Reformation, when the Church of 
England took her firm stand on the basis of the Holy Scriptures, her 
enemies sometimes attacked the right of the people to the use of the 
Bible : at other times, they took lower ground, and inveighed against 
the competency of the Translations executed in that day. In the 
present yet more wondrous epoch, when whole Nations, both in 
the Old and in the New World, appear to be struggling forth to raise 
themselves to a better state of things, and the religious part of man- 
kind are anxiously bent on giving to them all that which is their sole 
security, the Bible ; opposition may be expected to assume the same 
course as formerly : either the alarm will be excited, as though the 
general diffusion of the Bible tended to free-thinking and sedition ; or 
else the Versions will, perhaps, be represented as illiterate and inade- 
quate. To such objections we may give the same reply, as was in the 
first-mentioned period given by the Fathers of the Anglican Church : 
the following Extracts from the Homilies, and from Archbishop Par- 
ker's Preface, will meet, respectively, the two classes of objectors. 

" The great utility and profit, that Christian Men and Women 
may take — if they will — by hearing and reading the Holy Scrip- 
tures, Dearly Beloved, no heart can sufficiently conceive ; much less 
is any tongue able with words to express. 

" Wherefore Satan, our old enemy, seeing the Scriptures to be 
the very mean, and right way, to bring the people to the true know- 
ledge of God, and that Christian Religion is greatly furthered by 
diligent hearing and reading of them, he also perceiving what a 
hindrance and let they be to him and his kingdom, doth what he 
can to drive the reading of them out of God's Church. And, for 
that end, he hath always stirred up, in one place or other, cruel 
tyrants, sharp persecutors, and extreme enemies unto God and His 
infallible truth, to pull with violence the Holy Bibles out of the peo- 
ple's hands : and they have most spitefully destroyed and consumed 
the same to ashes in the fire ; pretending, most untruly, that the 
much hearing and reading of God's Word is an occasion of heresy 
and carnal liberty, and the overthrow of all good order in all well 
ordered commonweals. If to know God aright be an occasion of 
evil, then we must needs grant that the hearing and reading of the 
Holy Scriptures is the cause of heresy, carnal liberty, and the sub- 
version of all good order. But the knowledge of God, and of our- 
selves, is so far from being an occasion of evil, that it is the readiest, 
yea, the only mean to bridle carnal liberty, and to kill all our fleshly 
affections. And the ordinary way to attain this knowledge is, with 
diligence to hear and read the Holy Scriptures. For the whole 
Scriptures, saith St. Paul, were given by the inspiration of God." 

(Homily of Information on certain Places of Holy Scripture.) 

"And 



408 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

In reference to the Mediterranean, the Author 
will here briefly notice the progress which is making 
in several languages. Since the publication of his 
Volume of Researches in 18*22, the Four Gospels 
in Amharic have been printed in England, under 
the superintendence of Mr. Piatt, and copies of 
them have been forwarded to Abyssinia. To give 
completeness to this work, by furnishing the Ancient 
as well as the Modern Text, the British and Foreign 
Bible Society was in want of a perfect and well- 
accredited MS. of theEthiopic Gospels : the Author, 
having happily met w ith a very fine copy of the 
whole of the New Testament in Ethiopic at Jeru- 
salem, purchased it on account of the Church Mis- 
sionary Society; which has since presented it, toge- 
ther with some other MSS., to the Bible Society. 
The Syriac Old Testament has been completed 
under the superintendence of Professor Lee ; and 
will be hailed with admiration by many in Syria, 
in Mesopotamia, and in India. The Gospel of 
St. Matthew has been printed at Corfu, in the 

" And we may behold the endeavour of some men's cavillations, 
who labour all they can to slander the translators, to find fault in 
some words of the translation ; but themselves will never set pen to 
the book, to set out any translation at all : they can in their Consti- 
tutions Provincial, under pain of excommunication, inhibit all other 
men to translate them, without the Ordinaries or the Provincial 
Council agree thereunto. But they will be well ware never to 
agree, or give counsel to set them out : which, their subtle compass, 
in effect tendeth but to bewray what inwardly they mean, if they 
could bring it about ; that is, utterly to suppress them : being in this 
their judgment far unlike the old Fathers in the Primitive Church, 
who have exhorted indifferently all persons, as well men as women, 
to exercise themselves in the Scriptures, which, by St. Jerome's 
authority, be the Scriptures of the people." {Archbishop Parker s 
Preface to the Bible published by him A.D. 1572, commonly called 
the Bishop s Bible.) 

This prelate was the first Metropolitan of all England under 
Queen Elizabeth. 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 409 

Albanian Language, by the Ionian Bible Society. 
The great work of the Modern Greek Scriptures 
appears, unhappily, to meet with some retarding 
causes. 

In consideration of the very large proportion of 
Christians in Syria, who belong to the Greek Rite, 
and consequently are in fraternal communion with 
those, who, in Constantinople, Asia Minor, and 
Greece, use the Greek New Testament, the Author 
was induced to employ a learned Priest of Jerusalem, 
Ysa Petros, who has been repeatedly mentioned in his 
Journal, to commence an Arabic Version of the New 
Testament according to the Original Greek : both 
the languages are familiar to him. This translation 
has been received in Malta, perfect, as far as to the 
end of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The use of it 
may not be immediate ; but it may, at a future period, 
be wanted. The expense of executing it was in- 
considerable. The basis of it was the Propaganda 
Version, which Ysa Petros followed, making every- 
where alterations conformable to the Original 
Greek. 

The Arabic Bible of the Propaganda, it is gene- 
rally stated, is intelligible in Syria: this is true; yet 
it contains very many words not at all used in com- 
mon conversation: were it more universally read, 
these words might, probably, come into use; or, 
if this should not be effected, were Education to 
become general, so as to lead to the fixing of a 
Modern Arabic Dialect for Western Asia, a new 
Version would be found an expedient undertaking. 
On hearing common persons attempt to read the 
Arabic Bible, it is manifest, that, while they catch 
the leading sense, they occasionally faulter at parti- 



410 NOTICES, REMARKS, A X D SUGGESTIONS. 

cular words : this may arise from a defect, either in 
the Version, or in their education; probably from 
both *. 

7. The last principle to be noticed, as entering 
into the Constitution of a Bible Society, is one com- 
mon to a thousand other benevolent Institutions — 
that of voluntary association. It were super- 
fluous to enlarge on this topic. All, who have had 
the happiness to contribute to the actual operations 
of the Bible Society, must have seen, that, wherever 
people are sufficiently enlightened to comprehend 
the principles on which this Institution is formed, 
and possessed of sufficient purity of motive to main- 
tain those principles in their simplicity and integrity, 
it is then best, for the sake of greater success, to 
adopt the truly Christian method of union: nor is 

* The Author will here add a few minor remarks, which occurred 
to him, relative to the language of Syria. 

The spoken language of the country is everywhere Arabic ; re- 
sembling, in a high degree, the Arabic spoken by the natives of 
Malta, in the elision of various terminations in the Ancient Arabic : 
which indeed are printed, and, for the sake of dignity, pronounced 
in the more solemn reading of the Scriptures ; but which form no 
part of Modern Colloquial Arabic. I noted down only the following 
peculiarities. 

The letter is pronounced very often like the French j. I was 
surprised, at Ain Yabroud, to hear some pronounce $ like ch ; 
thus rX how much was pronounced like ahem in English: it appeared 

to me analogous to an anomaly in Modern-Greek pronunciation, the 
x. being pronounced by the natives of Athens, Myconi, and various 
adjacent Islands, not like h, but ch : thus UeJVes would be pronounced 
echeenos. — The universal custom in Syria (differing from that in 
Egypt j of prefixing i_> to the first and third persons of the verb 
(present or future tense) has the most unpleasant and perplexing 
effect, till the ear and tongue are practised in it : it is, however, 
closely similar to an old English idiom, still used by the vulgar — 
thus U1 for ^jjjl tam a-going for / am going; that is, I 
am at or in the act of going: corresponding to the preposition , 



BlILE SOCIETY". 411 

any union so likely to be effective and durable, as 
that which is cemented by a feeling of free will and 
free choice. 

SUGGESTIONS ON A BIBLE SOCIETY AT JERUSALEM. 

It had been suggested in the Instructions delivered 
to the Author in 1815, as an interesting subject of 
inquiry on the spot, whether a Bible Society could 
not be formed at Jerusalem. Too familiar as he has 
since become with the state and temper of profess- 
ing Christians in the Levant, he frankly owns that 
he did not, in his recent Journey to Palestine, enter- 
tain sanguine hopes of such an establishment : nor 
was the object much upon his mind, till a remark 
from his fellow-traveller, as they were crossing the 
Plain of Galilee, strongly recalled it to his recollec- 
tion. Subsequent conversations, both on their way 
to Jerusalem and in that city itself, led them to 
suspend their expectations ; believing that equal or 
much greater benefit would, under present circum- 
stances, be derived from measures less complex 
and less ostensible, than the term " Society" implies. 
Christian co-operation is, in fact, little understood 
in Turkey; and, from the publicity of such a kind 
of union, the natives would shrink with trembling. 
Not to lose sight of the principles, however, in 
which it would be desirable that Christians, under 
more auspicious circumstances, should concur, the 
Author drew up, in short compass, a few leading 
topics ; with the intention, had it been advisable, 
that they should be submitted to the Ecclesiastics 
of the different Communions at Jerusalem; and, if 
they should agree, be signed by them, and by Mr. 
Fisk, and others of the Missionaries from Europe 



412 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

and America. There appeared, however, sufficient 
reason for not circulating them ; and they are now 
first presented to the eye of the English Reader. 
He will find that they dwell more on fundamental 
principles than on the technical details of business ; 
the reason of which will be very well understood 
by those, who have witnessed how little of system 
and of energy is to be found among the Orientals, 
in following up voluntary plans of usefulness. For 
this, as will be seen by the concluding sentence, 
it will be necessary to look to our brother Missio- 
naries. 

1. We, [the Undersigned,] acknowledging it to be the 
duty of every man to communicate to his fellow-creatures the 
knowledge of that which will be useful to them, and being 
persuaded that the Holy Scriptures contain a merciful reve- 
lation of the will of God to mankind, do account ourselves 
bound to make known these Scriptures by their general dis- 
tribution. 

2. The Books of Holy Scripture, which have been from 
the first acknowledged as given by God's holy inspiration, are 
as follows : [here to enumerate by name the Books of the Old 
and New Testaments, omitting the Apocrypha :] and these 
Books, either singly, or a few of them together, according as 
they were at first given to the Church of God, or entire as 
one volume, it is our desire to see universally circulated. 

3. As all nations of the earth are equally interested in 
these Books and equally entitled to them, it is our ardent 
hope that men of learning will be raised up in every country, 
who will labour in preparing, where such are not yet pre- 
pared, competent Versions of these Sacred Books, for the use 
of every nation under heaven. 

4. We will correspond with such countries, as shall furnish 
us with copies of the Holy Scriptures for distribution; and 
we will use our exertions to distribute them, in every place, 
to which our influence may extend. The Reverend Mr. Fisk. 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 413 

who is recommended to us by Letters and by his Christian 
Labours, will have under his charge, and will render an ac- 
count of the manner of distributing, the Scriptures, which we 
shall thus receive. 

Of these Articles, the first was designed to de- 
clare the duty and the right of doing good, accord- 
ing to our belief concerning the Revealed Will of 
God ; and this in so plain and equitable a manner, 
as that all Christian Nations should be led, at the 
first view of it, to countenance and favour the moving 
principle of the Jerusalem Bible Society. The 
second declares what Canonical Books are consi- 
dered to be the Word of God : for if it be interesting 
to think, that, by means of such a Society, the Word 
of the Lord should again go forth from Jerusalem, it 
is in a proportionate degree important, that the 
operations of such a Body should be restricted to 
the Inspired Writings : for this principle, it is to be 
feared that the Oriental Churches are not, in their 
feelings, as yet sufficiently prepared : it appeared 
to us in a very high degree desirable, that London, 
Constantinople, and St. Petersburg should be moved 
upon this subject ; and I know not what measure 
would be more advisable than the publication, in 
various languages, of the Work of Bishop Cosin 
alluded to by Leslie : there is reason to believe, 
also, that the Protestant Churches on the Continent 
are not adequately interested in this principle of 
Bible Societies. The third Article relates to the 
necessity of having Scriptural Versions in vernacular 
languages. The fourth lays the foundation of 
actual labours, in such manner as the existing cir- 
cumstances of Palestine would permit: this was 



414 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

virtually acted upon, when Mr. Fisk, on the receipt 
of several boxes of the Scriptures, established a 
Depot in the Convent of Mar Michael. 

It is not all persons, in our own highly-favoured 
country, who have adopted the simple and sterling 
principles which are asserted by the Bible Society. 
Minor interests — for such, we cannot but apprehend, 
they will be accounted, in the Great Day when the 
secrets of all hearts shall be tried according to this 
Gospel — have been the occasion of restraining many 
learned, dignified, and even pious persons from 
taking that eminent station in this Institution, which 
might have contributed to carry forward the work 
of the Society to a rapid maturity. Can it be won- 
dered at, then, that Rome should thunder forth her 
anathemas once and again ; or that Constantinople 
should take up the theme, and unite in virtually de- 
nouncing all Bible- Society Operations as heretical, 
or profane, or seditious ; or that Jerusalem, formerly 
the radiating centre of the w orld, should now be 
in dimness and in feebleness ; while Great Britain 
is, in a manner, supine in this Great Cause? 

I smile, or rather I inwardly blush, when I hear 
foreigners extol the liberality of our Nation, which 
voluntarily consecrates a Hundred Thousand Pounds 
to this service: because I know that the gift of a 
Hundred Thousand Pounds is no measure of the 
wealth of my country ; nor would I willingly sup- 
pose it to be such of her generosity or of her piety. 
Were a mine of gold to be discovered in her terri- 
tories, how w ould the enterprising spirit of Britain 
shew itself! How many profound calculations, how 
many arduous voyages and journeys, would attest 



BIBLE SOCIETY. 415 

the sincere interest of the children of this world, who 
would never cease till they had brought the precious 
metal into currency and circulation! And such 
ought to be the ardour of Christians, in behalf of 
the Bible — a mine containing what is more to be 
desired than gold, yea than much fine gold, Y et it 
needs but a glance at the Map of the World to see, 
that, to multitudes, this measure is as yet but as 
unwrought and uncoined metal : the words are not 
yet translated into all the dialects of the earth : but 
how little would it cost, effectually to secure to 
Hebrew, Arabic, and Abyssinian Literature, for in- 
stance, a proportionate share of attention in our 
Universities ! While the enterprising personage who 
now rules Egypt has been, for some time, turning 
his arms southward, has it never occurred to the 
mind of any individual in England, gifted with 
princely wealth, that, by a spirited and judicious 
application of his resources, the latent and un- 
cherished talents of many young persons in Ox- 
ford and Cambridge might be called forth, to rescue 
Abyssinia and to enlighten Eastern Africa? 

The Author means not to disparage what has 
been already done: his heart is filled with gratitude 
to God, whenever he reflects what by His special 
Providence has been thus far effected ; but, when 
he calculates how much still is wanting in the work 
of Scriptural Translations, he feels as though his 
Country, the Parent of Bible Societies and the most 
liberal Patroness of all Learning, were not as yet 
half roused to a sense of her resources and of her 
duty. How many languages, in which her name is 
uttered with respect, still remain unfixed, and even 
unexplored ! And to those who speak them, con- 



416 NOTICES, REMARKS, AXI) SUGGESTIONS. 

sequent!} 7 , how difficult is it to declare, in their own 
tongue, the wonderful works of God ! 

These are reflections, which cannot fail, in time, 
to weigh with Christian Britain. Their inevitable 
tendency will be, to impel her to give to her Sacred 
Foreign- Literature a far more extended system, thai 
hitherto it has ever enjoyed. 



417 



TRANSLATION OF BOOKS. 



The following suggestions, relative to the Transla- 
tion of Books into the Languages of the East, are 
made under the persuasion, that there exists a 
greater quantity of well- arranged and intrinsically- 
valuable materials of knowledge in the languages of 
Europe, than can be found in the languages of any 
other similar portion of the globe ; greater, perhaps, 
than in all the rest of the world taken together. 

What subject of useful knowledge has not, during 
the last three centuries, been cultivated with ardour 
and increasing success by the European Nations ? 
Yet the results of this spirit of free and rational 
study have, to a very limited extent only, been 
transfused into the Oriental Languages — into Ara- 
bic, for example, the most extensively spoken of 
Oriental Tongues adjacent to the Mediterranean ; 
while other dialects, which will claim, in their turn, 
to be fixed and used as the instruments of Educa- 
tion and Instruction — those, for instance, of the 
northern half of Africa* — seem, as yet, to be far out 
of the /each of such as would assist in converting 
them to these purposes. 

From the perusal of the Author's Journal in Syria, 
it will have appeared to the Reader, that a pretty 

* For remarks on these, the Reader is referred to " Christian 
Researches in the Mediterranean, " pp. 303, 304. 

The account of Mr. Greaves's Visit to Tunis has also opened to 
our view various dialects, which it cannot but be considered desira- 
ble to ascertain and fix in writing. 

E E 



418 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

extensive acquaintance with languages is desirable, 
even in that sphere alone. It were too much to say, 
that such a range of literary acquirement is neces- 
sary : it would, in fact, be beyond the reach of any 
one individual ; nay, of several individuals, dividing 
their studies among different languages. 

The preparation of useful Books in the following 
languages, however, is a measure which ought to be 
constantly kept in view and prosecuted — Arabic, 
Turkish, Persian, Spanish-Hebrew, Armenian, 
Greek, Albanian, Abyssinian. 

The following arrangement of subjects, with a 
view to the making of a selection from the best 
standard works existing in European Languages, 
may be useful to those who intend to give their at- 
tention to this department. It is, indeed, merely 
an outline ; but the Author will be happy if it 
should lead some person, who has more leisure and 
better opportunities than himself, to fill up the 
sketch with a judicious list of suitable works under 
each head. 

I. Elementary. — This branch will include Al- 
phabets, Grammars, and Vocabularies. In some 
instances it may require much literary skill to fix a 
new Alphabet for a hitherto-unwritten dialect. In 
every language, it is a matter requiring much saga- 
city and labour, to arrange a Grammar or a Voca- 
bulary. 

II. Religion. — This most important subject may 
be classed under the following six heads ; premis- 
ing, that the holy scriptures, being once faithfully 
translated into a language, furnish an inexhaustible 
store of Divine Instruction, compared with which 
all human writings are as nothing. 



TRANSLATION OF BOOKS. 419 

1. The Evidences for the Christian Revelation, as 
contained in the Holy Scriptures — External: con- 
taining the historical series of facts, direct and col- 
lateral, relative to the preservation of the Scriptures 
in a genuine state ; and a similar historical series of 
facts, exhibiting successively the prophecies which 
have been accomplished — Internal: containing a 
view of the probability that this history is true ; and 
that a Revelation, which could produce such effects 
on its genuine advocates in past times, and which 
still communicates to its true followers a peaceful 
and sanctifying influence, must have had a Divine 
origin. 

It has been said, What use is there in giving to 
the Greek and Oriental Christians arguments, in 
proof of a religion which they profess, and the truth 
of which they never doubted ? The reply, so far as 
it respects themselves, is, that, although they may 
be said generally to believe, and never to have 
doubted, the truth of Christianity; yet this faith of 
theirs is not grounded on a knowledge of the evi- 
dences for its (ruth, and is therefore in the greatest 
danger of being, at any moment, shaken and sub- 
verted. That it is likely to be shaken by the intro- 
duction of general knowledge, is apparent, from this 
consideration. Their creed is compounded, partly 
of the true religion, and partly of a large proportion 
of traditionary superstitions ; all which they believe 
alike, on the same insufficient ground, namely, that 
they received them from their immediate forefathers. 
They believe rather from habit, than from convic- 
tion : while the absurdity of many of their fables is 
so evident, that, when once ill-designing and infidel 
men shall enter among them and disseminate doubts 

E E 2 



420 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

and dislike of their religion, their minds, unable to 
distinguish, will probably surrender the sound aud 
the unsound parts of their faith together. Infidelity 
is a kind of wildfire ; rapid and enlightening — but 
consuming ! The difficulties of the Arabic, Turkish, 
and Persian Languages will not stand in the way of 
Infidelity ; neither should they deter religious men 
from giving, in those languages, the fullest and best 
treatises upon the Evidences for the Christian Re- 
velation. 

As it respects the Mahomedans, in the midst of 
whom the Oriental Christians have so long lain 
buried in superstition and ignorance, the necessity 
of this measure is still more apparent. We do not 
expect to convince by the evidence of miracles: we 
must therefore — besides giving them the know- 
ledge of the truth, and, in our lives, an example of 
its efficacy — establish our proofs of the Christian 
Revelation on the grounds of historical fact and 
moral probability. It is deeply to be lamented, 
that, during the long night of thick darkness which 
has rested upon the East, the very circumstances of 
the Oriental Churches have been doubly unfavoura- 
ble to the extension of the Christian Religion. On 
the one hand, the bulk of those Christians being 
ignorant and grossly superstitious, they have never 
been able to meet Mahomedans on the ground of 
Scriptural and Historical argument : their Ecclesi- 
astical Rulers must, on the other hand, if at all 
enlightened, have seen that a course of sound evi- 
dence, in proof of Christianity to Mahomedans, 
would tend to disprove and to disparage many of 
their own tenets and usages. This would be to 
their own dishonour. It would also stimulate the 



TRANSLATION OF BOOKS. 421 

inquiring spirit and exercise the judgment of their 
dependents, in a degree beyond what is consistent 
with implicit faith. None know better, than a su- 
perstitious and intolerant priesthood, the danger 
which follows on allowing to their people scope for 
thinking on religious, moral, and historical subjects. 

Next to the critical and devout study of the Holy 
Scriptures, which appeal mainly to the conscience, 
tending to give it a temper of uprightness and love 
of the truth, no study more conduces to the forma- 
tion and improvement of the human character, than 
that of Historical Fact and Moral Probability : it 
may be added, that, second in order to the use of 
the Bible, no subject is more hostile to superstition 
and religious errors of every kind. For the sake of 
the interests of Truth itself, therefore ; for the con- 
servation of the genuine doctrines of Christianity, 
whenever the fire of Infidelity shall be applied to 
that mixture of truth and error which is professed 
by Christians in the East ; and for the sake of the 
propagation of the Gospel on rational principles 
among Mahomedans and others ; this subject of the 
evidences for Christianity merits to be taken up 
systematically, learnedly, and comprehensively: not 
grudging the cost which will attend the labour of 
prosecuting it*. 



* The following will serve as a specimen of the kind of evidence 
current in the East. It is believed by many, that the decision con- 
cerning the Books of Scripture was thus made. The Christian Fathers, 
unable in any other way to determine which were authentic and which 
apocryphal and spurious, laid them all together upon the Altar of the 
Church, and left them there during the night, expecting a miraculous 
proof from heaven. They were not disappointed : for, in the morn- 
ing, they found the Canonical Books in good order upon the Altar ; 
while all the Spurious Gospels and Apocryphal Books were scattered 

about 



42*2 XOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

2. Commentaries on the Books of Scripture will 
be an excellent method of conveying the best reli- 
gious knowledge. This is a department, however, 
which requires, more than any other, the assistance 
of that wisdom which is from above. The words of 
St. Paul, in 1 Cor. ii. 10—16 and iii.10— 15, should 
impress the mind of every Commentator on Scrip- 
ture with the deepest awe. 

3. Catechisms, especially Scriptural Catechisms, 
are an admirable kind of book for general distribu- 
tion. There are few pious parents or children in 
England, but can bear testimony to the great assis- 
tance and benefit derived from this description of 
publications. 

4. Books of a didactic nature, explaining the 
Doctrines or recommending the Precepts of the 
Gospel ; Sermons, Essays, &c. 

5. Narrative Tracts, and Dialogues on religious 
subjects. 

6. Critical explanations and illustrations of the 
Sacred Scriptures. 

III. History, Ecclesiastical and Profane; and 
Biography. 

1. Ecclesiastical History, of the best kind, is such 
as that of Milner ; aiming to give the History, so far 
as it can be gathered, of the true Members of the 
Spiritual Church of Christ. The learned contro- 
versies, the heresies, the contentions, the political 
intrigues, the cruel wars — how fearful, and yet how 
true to fact is this climax ! — exhibited by such a 



about on the Church floor. This story was communicated to UV 
Author by a Greek Ecclesiastic at Jerusalem, who firmly believed it : 
very probably it may exist in print. 



TRANSLATION OF BOOKS. 423 

work as that of Mosheim, fix on the professors of 
Christianity a character very far from Christian : the 
knowledge obtained from that work is highly im- 
portant, but of the most painful nature. 

2. Profane History, Ancient and Modern, fur- 
nishes most instructive matter. The principle on 
which Rollin's Ancient History is written, that of 
blending with facts a view of the accomplishment 
of prophecies, and illustrating the constant govern- 
ment of God in the affairs of nations, is one most 
worthy to be adopted. Without some such leading 
principle in the mind, it would be painful, without 
being profitable, to read the History of Mankind, in 
which crimes and miseries constitute the largest 
proportion of the story. 

3. Biography, ever the most generally interest- 
ing branch of reading, would furnish a great variety 
of matter. For translation into the Oriental Lan- 
guages, that kind of Biography should be selected, 
which tends to illustrate character and principles ; 
avoiding such parts as refer to peculiar modes of 
life or forms of society, which could not be made 
intelligible to foreign readers. The most beautiful 
specimen extant in the English Language of this 
kind of writing, the Lives of Donne, Wotton, 
Hooker, Herbert, and Sanderson, by Isaac Wal- 
ton, would for the most part be incomprehensible 
in an Arabic Version ; but from Fox's History of 
the Martyrs, from the account of the deaths of 
Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, much might be se- 
lected, which would touch the best feelings of the 
heart in every clime. A well-prepared account of 
the Life and Opinions of St. Augustine would also 
be a valuable piece of Biography for these parts. 

4. Geography and Chronology would be re- 



424 NOTICES, REMARKS, A N D SUGGESTIONS. 

quisite to the elucidation of History ; and books* 
upon Geography, more especially, would give op- 
portunity for introducing much entertaining and 
profitable matter, relative to the natural productions, 
remarkable curiosities, &c. of different kingdoms. 
The customs, especially the religious customs, of 
different countries might be so described and deli- 
neated, as to answer important Christian purposes ; 
exhibiting, in a judicious and compassionate man- 
ner, the wanderings and delusions of nations unblest 
with the light of the Gospel. The articles under the 
head of " Miscellanies," which are given in some of 
the Numbers of the Missionary Register, furnish a 
good specimen of the thing intended. 

Several other branches of useful knowledge might 
be enumerated ; but those which have been speci- 
fied seem to comprehend nearly every thing that 
can possibly claim the attention of a Missionary. 
His calling is one which must necessarily limit his 
pursuits to such subjects as have a religious bear- 
ing. It has, indeed, in later times, been attempted 
to render matters of Science — for example, Che- 
mistry, Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Astronomy, &c. — 
popular and familiar to all classes in England, by 
means of Scientific Catechisms. Whether this will 
tend to the real augmentation of Science in our own 
country is a question which probably will not ad- 
mit of a solution, till at least one generation shall 
have tried the experiment. The translation, how- 
ever, of such books into foreign languages may 
safely be left to secular persons : for wherever civi- 
lization shall have so far advanced, as to create a 
demand for this kind of knowledge, there will not 
be wanting men ready to engage in supplying it. 



425 



IMAGE-WORSHIP, 

AND 

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 



TS not that man, think you, unwise, that will run for water to a little 
brook, when he may as well go to the head-spring f Even so may his 
wisdom be justly suspected, that will flee unto Saints in time of neces- 
sity, when he may, boldly and without fear, declare his grief and di- 
rect his prayer unto the Lord himself. 

(Homily of the Church of England concerning Prayer.) 

Shall God's Word — by God commanded to be read unto all, 
and known of all— for danger of heresy, as they say, be shut up ? 
And idols and images, notwithstanding they be forbidden by God, 
and notwithstanding the danger of idolatry by them, shall they yet be 
set up, suffered and maintained, in Churches and Temples'? O 
worldly and fleshly wisdom f ever bent to maintain the inventions 
and traditions of men, by carnal reason ; and, by the same, to 
disannul or deface the holy ordinances, laws, and honour of the 
eternal God f 

(Homily of the Church of England against Peril of Idolatry.) 

The invention of other Mediators between God 
and Man, than Christ Jesus ; to be invoked, conse- 
quently, by prayer — and the attempt to conduct 
religious worship with the help of graven images, 
or likenesses, or reliques — these are two of the 
greatest errors, by which professing Christians have 
defaced the Gospel, and dishonoured the God re- 
vealed to us in the Bible. They are combined and 
interwoven with all the religious notions and offices 
of the Romish and Oriental Churches ; while this 
multiplication of Mediators is an outrage to the 



426 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

doctrine of the all-sufficient mediation of Christ, as 
presumptuous as Pagan Polytheism is to the doc- 
trine of the Unity of God. 

To exemplify this statement, it would be suf- 
ficient to turn to Ecclesiastical History, that part 
especially which refers to the Eighth Century ; or 
to quote the various Liturgical Books of Rome and 
the East ; or actually to visit their Churches, and 
observe the ceremonies of these denominations of 
Christians. 

In the following pages, a selection is made from 
various authentic documents, which may serve to 
illustrate the character and tendencies of this two- 
fold kind of Idolatry ; a superstition, in which botli 
the object and the means of devotion are of human 
invention, and alike opposed to the tenor of the 
revealed will of God. 

An image or picture of the Virgin Mary is set up, 
in a Church, in the corner of a street, in a private 
room, or before the eyes of a sick or dying man : 
or, perhaps, it is carried in procession, gorgeously 
arrayed ; while the gazing multitude, with unco- 
vered head and bended knee, cry in prayer, 6 1 Mo- 
ther of God, hear us! — Mother of God, pray for 
us! 1 ' This instance is adduced, as illustrating the 
complex act of Idolatry hereby performed : a per- 
son, not the proper object of prayer, is invoked ; 
and the spirit of devotion toward her is stimulated, 
by the exhibition of pomp suited to gratify the lust 
of the eye. This kind of idolatrous display is very 
general in the Mediterranean* ; not less general, 

* The Author is here speaking from pretty extensive means of 
observation in Malta, the Ionian Islands, Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, 
and Syria. 



IMAGE-WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 427 

probably, than the reading of the Bible is in Eng- 
land ! 

Not unfrequently, this image of the Virgin Mary 
is represented as bearing in its arms an image of the 
Child Jesus. That the name of Jesus should be 
invoked, is Scriptural; but, to mingle with our 
prayers to Him the admiration of His image, bow- 
ing down to it, or doing honour to it, is idolatrous. 
In this act, the idolatry is single ; whereas in the 
adoration of the image of the Virgin it is twofold. 

These two subjects are discussed, with the great- 
est perspicuity and with unanswerable arguments, 
in two separate Homilies of the Church of England : 
the one entitled, " Concerning Prayer;" the other, 
" Against Peril of Idolatry." In these Discourses 
it is clearly established, that both these errors are 
repugnant as well to the sense of Scripture as to 
that also of the primitive Christian Fathers. 

It were vain to attempt adding any thing to the 
matter of these two Homilies. Superfluous, how- 
ever, it will not be, to impress on the English 
Reader, in the present day, the great danger of 
departing from the purity of the Scriptures, and of 
falling into the corruptions of Idolatry. 

The first Document which we shall quote illus- 
trative of this subject, is one which is regarded by 
Corrupt Churches as authoritative, in establishing 
not so much the lawfulness as the duty of the use of 
Images. It is the Decree of the Seventh General 
Council. 

Definitio Sanctce Magna et Universalis in Nicced Synodi 
Secundce. 

After having made various introductory remarks, 
and repeated the first Nicene Creed, and recapitu- 



428 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

la ted the condemnation of different Heresies by 
previous Councils, their Definition of Faith proceeds 
thus : — 

We define, with all accuracy and care, that the venerable 
and holy Images, fitly prepared with colours and inlaying or 
any other matter, according to the fashion and form of the 
venerable and life-giving Cross, are to be dedicated and 
placed and kept in the sacred temples of God ; on sacred 
vessels and garments also, on walls and tables, in private 
houses, and in public ways : but, chiefly, the image of the 
Lord and God our Saviour Jesus Christ; next, that of our 
unspotted Lady, the Mother of God ; those of the venerable 
Angels, and of all Holy Men. For, as often as these painted 
Images are looked at, they who contemplate them are excited 
to the memory and recollection and love of the prototypes, 
and may offer to them salutation and an honorary adoration : 
not that which, according to our faith, is true worship 
(XctT%ucti), and which pertains to the Divine Nature alone ; 
but in like manner as we reverently approach the type of the 
venerable and life-giving Cross, and the Holy Gospels, and 
the other sacred things, with oblations of censers and lighted 
tapers, according as this custom was piously established by 
the Ancients. For the honour done to the image redounds 
to the prototype ; and he who adores the image, adores in 
it likewise the subject described. 

(LabbcBi Concilia, Tom. VIII. Col. 1206 % 1526.) 

To these declarations are appended the signa- 
tures of the Bishops and others : the first two are 
the signatures of two Presbyters of Pope Hadrian, 
acting as his vicegerents : the third is the signature 
of Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople : the fourth 
is that of the Patriarch's Assessor, " acting," as he 
says, "on behalf of the three Apostolical Thrones 
of the East, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem." 
Then follow the signatures of the remaining Bi- 
shops, each one signing himself avct,%iog f or uftctgruXog 



IMAGE-WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 429 

or Ihccfcifog: then follows a series of reiterated Ana- 
themas. 

All that can be urged in favour of the honouring 
and adoring of Images will be found in the copious 
Collection of Papal, Patriarchal, Episcopal, and 
other Letters, Decrees, Dialogues, Dissertations, &c. 
from col. 645 to coL 1600, being 478 very closely 
printed folio pages, in the volume just quoted — far 
more than most Europeans, in the present age, 
would endure to read on this subject ; yet all too 
few to blot out this one argument on the opposite 

Side, THE LORD THY GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD. This 

counter-argument, however, they have taken good 
heed to dispose of, by throwing the Second Com- 
mandment out of all their Catechisms! 

From col. 1043 to col. 1194, is contained the 
" Definition" against Image- Worship; set forth by 
Gregory, Bishop of Neo-Caesarea, and 338 other 
Bishops, in that Council, which the upholders of 
Image- Worship call " the False Seventh Council." 
With it is interwoven a Refutation by the Deacon, 
John. In these 76 pages, the whole conflict may 
be seen conducted, as it were, by single-combat. 
The language of the Refutation is not remarkable, 
in some passages, for its courtesy. 

Labbaeus states the number assembled in the Se- 
cond Council of Nice to be 350 Bishops, many 
Archimandrites, very many Monks, and some Se- 
nators sent by the Emperor ; all under the Presi- 
dency of these four Dignitaries — the Patriarch of 
Constantinople, two Representatives of the Pope, 
and the Patriarch's Assessor. ( Vol. VIII. col. 650.) 
This Council assembled A.D. 787- It is the last of 
those in which Constantinople and Rome united ; 



430 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

and constitutes what both agree to call a General 
Council. 

" I am anxiously looking," remarks our great 
Ecclesiastical Historian, Milner, " for the features 
of the Church of Christ in this very gloomy period ; 
and seem to think that her existence was most pro- 
bably to be found in the Churches lately planted, 
or in those w hich w ere then in an infant state. Our 
own island (Great Britain) was decidedly at that 
time against Idolatry. The British Church exe- 
crated the Second Council of Nice ; and some even 
of the Italian Bishops protested against the growing 
evil. Nor is it probable that the Churches of Ger- 
many, now forming, were at all disposed to receive 
it France itself had, as yet, shewn no dispo- 
sition positively in favour of Idolatry." {Century 
viii. Chap. 3. Vol. III. pp. 167, 168.) 

Seven years after this first public and glaring 
establishment of the doctrine of Image-Worship, 
both the doctrine and the Council which established 
it were condemned by a Council held at Frankfort- 
on-the-Maine, consisting of 300 Bishops. Thus, 
within the compass of forty years, three Councils 
were held, each consisting of three hundred Bishops 
or upward ; of which, two condemned, while only 
one decreed, Image-Worship. This one, however, 
having Papal and Patriarchal Sanction, is called t 
a General Council. Such is the influence. of autho- 
ritative names, to beguile simple minds, unfurnished 
with the knowledge of Scripture. Certainly, if the 
children of professing Christians, in Roman-Catholic 
and Eastern Countries, were taught to repeat the 
Second Commandment, their unsophisticated minds 
would inquisitively turn to the images and pictures 



IMAGE-WOUSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 431 

by which they are surrounded ; and they would ask, 
6C If we are Christians, how can these things be?" 
Nor would all the imposing arts of Ecclesiastical 
domination be able to extinguish this divine spark 
of conscientiousness. It would not require the arm 
of an Iconoclast: the lips of babes and sucklings 
would suffice to demolish Image-Worship. 

Agreeably to the decrees of the Seventh Council, 
every Bishop of the Greek Church makes a formal 
declaration of his belief in the lawfulness of Image- 
Worship. In the last of the three Confessions which 
he repeats with a loud voice at his Consecration*, 
are these words — " I adore, relatively, but not as 
worshipping," tr^srifcSg aXhl oh XurgevrutSg, "the di- 
vine and venerable images ; those also of Christ, 
and of the most Holy Mother of God, and of all the 
Saints : and the honour, whicli I pay to these images, 
I transfer to the prototypes." 

The Council of Trent has rivetted the doctrine 
of Image-Worship so fast on the Romish Church, 
that it is impossible for that Church to return to the 
simplicity of the Gospel, without formally abjuring 
the Acts of the Council. The doctrines of the 
meritorious intercession of the Virgin Mary and of 
the Saints, and their tutelar influences over persons 
and places, are likewise more explicitly established 
by that Council, than had been done before ; although 
the spirit of dependence on these false mediators 
had long since prevailed in the Churches both of 
the East and the West. Most deeply, indeed, is it 
to be lamented, that, by every genuine Romanist, 
the Acts of that Council are regarded as dictated 
by the Holy Spirit, no less than the Bible itself. 



* See in the Euchologion, T«'|<5 \it) -^zi^orovtot 'TLnHTKOTrov. 



432 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

The substance of the Decrees of that Council, on 
this and on all other religious subjects, is concen- 
trated in the form of an Oath, set forth by Pope 
PiusIVth; to which all beneficed persons, not only 
of the Ecclesiastical but even of the Military Orders, 
[Regular ium quorumcunque Ordinum, etiam Mili- 
tarium,] are required to swear*. 

* The document above mentioned is here subjoined. It contains 
an Epitome of the Roman Faith, in the Form of an Oath. After reciting 
the Apostle's Creed and avowing his belief of it, as a portion of the 
Creed of the Holy Roman Church, the party taking the Oath proceeds : 

" I most firmly admit and embrace the Apostolical and Ecclesias- 
tical Traditions, and all other Observances and Constitutions of the 
same Church. Also, I admit Sacred Scripture, according to that sense 
which has been held and is held by Holy Mother Church, to whom it 
belongs to judge of the time sense and interpretation of the Sacred 
Scriptures : nor will I ever receive or interpret it (Scripture) except 
according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers. I also profess that 
there are truly and properly Seven Sacraments of the New Law, in- 
stituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, and necessary, though not for each 
singly, yet for the whole human race ; viz. Baptism, Confirmation, the 
Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony: and 
that they confer grace : and that, of these, Baptism, Confirmation, and 
Orders cannot be reiterated without sacrilege. I also receive and ad- 
mit the received and approved rights of the Catholic Church, in the 
solemn administration of all the above-mentioned Sacraments. I em- 
brace and receive all and each of those things, which, in the Holy Coun- 
cil of Trent, have been defined and declared concerning Original Sin 
and Justification. I, in like manner, profess that in the Mass is of- 
fered to God a true, proper, and propitious sacrifice for the Living and 
the Dead : and that, in the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, 
there is truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood, together 
with the Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and that there 
is made the change of the whole substance of the bread into the body 
and the whole substance of the wine into the blood, which change the 
Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation : I confess, also, that, 
under each kind alone, the whole and entire Christ and the true 
Sacrament is taken. I firmly hold that there is a Purgatory : and 
that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the 
Faithful. Also, that the Saints reigning together with Christ are to 
be venerated and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for 
us; and that their reliques are to be venerated. I most firmly 
assert that the Images of Christ and of the Mother of God, ever 

Virgin, 



IMAGE-WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 43o 

Intimately allied to these Idolatries is the custom 
of performing Pilgrimages to Jerusalem and other 
Holy Places, under the notion of acquiring merit 
and doing honour to God*. When the Author 
visited Greece, some years ago, he purchased a 
small Quarto Volume, in Greek, entitled, " A 
Manual, concerning the Superlative Excellence of 
the Holy City Jerusalem, and the Holy and Life- 
giving Sepulchre of our Lord .... of giving Alms to 
it.... and the Benefit of Worshipping there;" by 

Virgin, and also of the other Saints, are to he held and retained, and 
a due honour and veneration is to he granted them. I affirm also that 
the power of Indulgences was left by Christ in His Church, and that 
the use of them is highly salutary to the Christian People. I acknow- 
ledge the Holy Catholic and Apostolical Romish Church to be Mother 
and Mistress of all Churches ; and I pledge and swear true obedience 
to the Roman Pontiff, Successor of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the 
Apostles, and Vicar of Jesus Christ. Also all other things, handed 
down, defined, and declared by the Sacred Canons and General Coun- 
cils, and chiefly by the most Holy Council of Trent, I undoubtingly 
receive and profess: and, at the same time, all things contrary, and all 
Heresies whatsoever condemned, rejected, and anathematized, I, in 
like manner, condemn, reject, and anathematize. And this true Ca- 
tholic Faith, out of which no one can have salvation, which at present 
I voluntarily profess and truly hold, I the said A.B. pledge, vow, and 
swear that I will hold and confess the same entire and inviolate to the 
last breath of my life, most constantly, God being my helper : and that 
I will take care, as far as lies in me, that the same shall be held, taught, 
and preached by my subjects, or by those the care of whom pertains to 
me by my office. So God help. me and these Holy Gospels of God !" 

* The connection between Idolatry and Pilgrimages is well set forth, 
in a single sentence of one of the Homilies of the Church of England — 
a sentence, in which, if critical neatness be not found, yet every sensi- 
ble reader must admire the busy, thick-set accumulation of facts and 
feelings ; giving, in few lines, more matter of thought, than many mo- 
dem pages are wont to furnish. " Yea and furthermore, the madness 
of all men professing the religion of Christ, now by the space of a 
sort of hundred years, and yet even in our own time in so great light 
of the Gospel — very many running on heaps, by sea and land, to the 
great loss of their time ; expense, and waste of their goods ; destitu- 
tion of their wives, children and families ; and danger of their own 
bodies and lives, to Compostella, Rome, Jerusalem, and other far 
countries, to visit dumb and dead stocks and stones." 

F F 



434 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTION'S. 

Chrysanthus, Patriarch of Jerusalem. It purports 
to be " printed in the Holy City, in the year 1728, 
in the month of September, to be distributed gra- 
tuitously for the benefit of the Holy Sepulchre*.'' 
It consists of upward of 63 pages, treating on the 
subjects proposed. These are followed by a solemn 
Circular Letter from Pcesius, Patriarch of Constan- 
tinople, in aid of the Holy Sepulchre ; printed in 
Greek, Wallachian, and Slavonian. The following 
Extracts from the work will serve to convey to the 
Reader some idea of the genuine tendency of Su- 
perstition, in debasing the temper, and style, both 
of those who rule and of those who serv e. 

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, on enumerating the 
various Holy Places, objects of veneration at Jeru- 
salem, commences with the following attack upon 
the opinions of the Reformed Churches:— 

The wicked man, says the Sacred Scripture, falling into 
the gulph of sin, becomes a scorner ; being darkened, and 
having his mind and conscience denied. Such are certain 
new heretics, sprung up in the West ; opposing themselves, 
among other things, to the reverence and worship of the Holy 
Places of our Saviour. But, let false prophets arise, let 
heretics appear, let schismatics spring up, let them promise 
heaven to their followers, let them threaten eternal punish* 
ments to those who do not follow them, let them boast them- 
selves to be angels from heaven, let them work signs and 
powers, let all the world follow them, let some of them blas- 
pheme the Faith and others the Traditions of the Universal 
Church of Christ, let them revile the Ecclesiastical Ministers 
and Servants of Christ, let the earth be shaken, let the sea 
roar, let the heavens fall, let these and all other things like 
them happen ; but let the Word of God stand, as revealed in 

* Tv7ra6h h ta 'Ay/ct TloXir lv "Em ot-^v.^' kcctu pvyx 2-7rTi.u/3geoi' 
Ucc^xio-Qxi ^a^iciv \k jxigovs rov Uavxyi'ov Tutpov. We are not aware of 
any Printing-Pro^ at present existing in Jerusalem. 



IMAGE- WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 435 

the Holy Scriptures and in the Sacred Fathers. Wisdom 
shall be justified of her children. Let the nations worship 
each one the God that it has chosen for itself, and let the 
heretics blaspheme holy persons and holy] things ; but we, 
with the Holy Church of Christ, worship and serve the One 
and Only True God, the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity. 
We adore, that is, we honour, the Saints, and the Likenesses 
[ekoW?] of the Saints. We adore, that is, we honour, the ho- 
nourable Cross, the Wood of the honourable Cross, the ho- 
nourable and life-giving Sepulchre of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the holy Golgotha, the holy Place of Crucifixion, the holy 
Grotto of the Incarnation of our Lord, the Foot-step of our 
Saviour on the Mount of Olives, the holy Sepulchre of the 
Mother of God in Gethsemane, and the other Holy Places of 
our Saviour, in such manner as our fathers, from the time of 
the holy Apostles till now, have adored and honoured them. 
And those who reject this honour, teaching contrary to the 
Ecclesiastical Tradition, perverting the Holy Scriptures and 
torturing them according to their own fancy, we, with the 
Seventh Council, anathematize and excommunicate. 

In a preceding Extract from the Creed of this 
Council, we have noticed the manner in which that 
Assembly concluded their Session, with loud ana- 
themas of all their opposers : the sense of this curse 
is, however, in the following document of the Pa- 
triarch of Constantinople, expanded into detail truly 
terrific — a most surprising contrast to the temper 
with which an Apostle used the painful authority of 
excommunication. (See 1 Cor. v. 1 — 5. and 2 Cor. 
ii. 4—11.) 

The Patriarch, having enlarged on the duty and 
benefit of Pilgrimages, concludes with the following 
denunciation : — 

But what Christians soever, whether Priests, or Laymen, 
or Spiritual Fathers devoted to the single and monastic life, 
being stirred up by irreverence and want of faith or covetous- 

F f 2 



436 NOTICES, REMAKKS, AND SUGGESTIONS, 
ness and love of filthy lucre, or subverted by the Devil who 
envies good and profitable works, shall, by vain, frivolous, 
and cold speeches, or by any other method of Satanic deceit, 
hinder or turn aside Christians from going to the worship of 
the Holy Sepulchre, and giving to it alms and oblations, and 
shall thus become the cause of their sin and spiritual hurt, 
and shall occasion to the Holy Sepulchre the privation of the 
alms of Christian Worshippers — such, if they cease not 
henceforth from this their Satanic and destructive irreverence, 
unbelief, and error, let them be separated from the Lord God 
Almighty, and cursed, and without forgiveness; and, after 
death, not loosed : stones and iron shall be loosed, but they 
never. Let them inherit the leprosy of Gehazi and the halter 
of Judas! Let them be groaning and trembling upon the 
earth, like Cain ! Let the earth open and swallow them up, 
like Dathan and Abiram : Let their portion be with the 
traitor Judas, and the impious Jews who crucified the Lord 
of Life and Glory ! Let the w r rath of God be upon their 
heads, their works, and their possessions ! Let their labour 
and sweat be for utter vanity and destruction ; and let them 
never see prosperity in all the toil of their lives ! Let 
them receive the curses of the three hundred and eighteen* 
holy and divine Fathers in the Council of Nice, and those of 
the other Holy Synods; and let them be under the judgment 
of eternal fire, and victims of never-ending torment! But 
do ye all do according as we write ; dutifully obeying this 
our paternal and synodical exhortation and admonition, as 
natural and grateful children of your Spiritual Mother, the 
great and holy Church of Christ, that the grace and infinite 
mercy of God and the prayer and blessing of our Lowliness 
may be with you all. 

In the month of August, 1727. 

The Document is further signed by fifteen Bishops. 
Many more passages, sufficient to fill several 
folio volumes, might, with ease, be collected, to 



* Probably an error in the printing : the number was Greater than 
318. 



IMAGE-WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 437 

prove how numerous are the Churches — from Peters- 
burg to Gondar, from Madrid to Pekin — which 
have, for centuries, been filled with these idolatries. 
But the Reader, satiated with this painful subject, 
will certainly desire no more, after having perused 
the following Extract from a yery popular Greek 
Preacher, Bishop Pdiniati. His Sermons, preached 
about a century ago, are still esteemed for their 
eloquence and unction. Some parts of them, in- 
deed, are most admirable ; especially his touching 
discourse on the Passion of Christ: but the fol- 
lowing passage will sufficiently prove to what lengths 
men will go, when once bewitched with the sorcery 
of idolatrous passions 

Is it not true, Christians ! that we sin daily, hourly, every 
moment ? Let the conscience of each one bear witness. Woe 
to us ! by how many kinds of sin is our life polluted ! It 
seems to be little better than one continuous, uninterrupted 
chain of heavy transgressions. How much impurity in our 
thoughts, what foulness of speech upon our tongue, how many 
iniquities in our conduct, does the Son of God see! — sees, yet 
forbears, because He is long suffering. But when we, with 
vile ingratitude, unrepenting, uncorrected, and resolved upon 
evil courses, provoke to the uttermost the Divine Anger, and 
kindle His righteous vengeance, He then endures no longer ; 
but, armed with the sword and the bow of His tremendous 
and intolerable wrath, like a terrible Warrior He attacks us, 
and threatens our utter ruin, death, and eternal punish- 
ment .... From this fury and anger of the Son of God, 
whither shall we, miserable sinners, flee ? We have no other 
hope than in repenting, and falling at the feet of our merciful 
God; and, to this end, availing ourselves of the mediation of 
the Priests, here in the Church below, and of the Saints 
exalted to Paradise. And consider, moreover, how all the 
Monks, and Priests, and Bishops and Patriarchs unite in of- 
fering up supplications and prayers: chiefly, how all the 



438 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 
Saints of Paradise, the whole quire of Prophets and Apostles, 
all the multitude of Martyrs, and Hermits, and Virgins, all 
the ranks of the Blessed Angels, falling before the throne of 
the Divine Majesty, implore pity and pardon for us! More 
than all these united intercessions of the Church below and 
that above, avails one single word of the Mother-of-God. 
Ah! when that fearful Judge turns and sees the imploring 
countenance of His Mother, that most Holy, most sweet 
Mother, immediately He becomes gentle, and meek, and 
pacified — immediately He parts with the sword and bow of 
Divine Wrath — immediately He vouchsafes us reconciliation 
and love — immediately He bestows on us the desired par- 
don! 

He, who does not honour and revere his own Mother, is 
not worthy to be called a man! He, who does not honour 
and revere the Mother of God, is not worthy to be called a 
Christian ! Who can boast himself a faithful servant of Jesus, 
if he be not a faithful servant of Mary ? or how shall he 
reverence the Son, who does not reverence the Mother ? Ah ! 
into whatever other irreverence it may be my misfortune to 
fall, may I never lose my reverence for the Virgin Mary ! In 
whatever disaster, bodily or spiritual, I may be found, to Her 
will I flee, sure of obtaining cure for my sicknesses, consolation 
in my sorrows, and pardon for my sins ! Even in the depths of 
Hell, I hope for salvation from the Queen of Heaven ! I fear 
not to be lost, when taking refuge in Her arms! Then only, 
when I lose my reverence for the Virgin, am I a lost soul ! 
(Miniatis Greek Sermons, Edition of Venice, A. D. 1805. p. 307, 
et seq.) 

A feeling of duty to three classes of persons has 
led the Author to regard the notice of this subject 
as peculiarly opportune and necessary. 

1. The first class is, his countrymen. 

Great Britain has entered the Mediterranean— 
not merely, as in former times, with her fleets and 
armies, for a season ; but — with her permanent Civil 
Power, governing and protecting Malta and the 



IMAGE-WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 439 

Ionian Islands. This circumstance brings English- 
men into nearer contact with those corruptions of 
Christianity, which, three centuries ago, prevailed 
in England ; but which, in various Churches of the 
Mediterranean and of the Levant, remain to this 
day, precisely as described in the Homily of our 
Church against Idolatry. 

The first impression made on most of his coun- 
trymen by the sight of these Papal and Oriental 
Pageants, the Author can testify, has been that of 
unqualified astonishment and disapprobation. They 
had not conceived it possible for professing Chris- 
tians to carry their imitation of Paganism so far. 
By use, however, this feeling wears off : expressions 
of compassion succeed to those of abhorrence ; till, 
at length, even persons otherwise respectable and 
decorous have been induced to assist and partici- 
pate in rites and ceremonies, most detrimental to 
the purity of the Gospel. Thus it is, that — 

We first endure — then pity — then embrace ! 

" But are Englishmen in danger of becoming 
Idolaters?" — We reply: They are near the tempta- 
tion ; and, if they are not restrained by a religious 
principle, no power on earth can rescue them. 
Strong sense, good education, and national cha- 
racter, are no securities whatever to the virtue of 
those who shall venture upon forbidden ground. 

There is, in truth, a leaning in man's nature to 
Idolatry: there is a passion for all its follies — its 
festiveness, its music, odours, and splendours, fas- 
cinating each sense — a fond pleasure, too, in the 
thought of having many deities, or at least hea venly 



-140 NOTICES, REM AR &S, AND SUGG ESTIONS. 

patrons, guardian angels, and tutelar saints, whom, as 
it was our own fancy which elected them to that 
office, our imagination represents as being com- 
pliant to our humour, and tenderly indulgent to our 
frailties. The great doctrines of Revelation —the 
gracious offices of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — are 
not so congenial to our nature as the fictions of men. 
Neither is spirituality the natural bias of the heart: 
and hence our proneness, in every age, to materi- 
alize religion; to uphold the form of godliness, 
while denying, or manifesting indifference to, the 
power thereof. 

It is by many supposed that Idolatry is the reli- 
gion of the weak and ignorant alone : but this is 
false. It is a principle as clearly established by 
history as any other, that Idolatry has power to 
infatuate the wisest. Where it does not overpower 
their judgment, yet it befools, it captivates the 
passions, stifles conscience, and completely takes 
possession of the heart. What is then left for 
God? 

It is not, therefore, for Englishmen, those espe- 
cially whose Children may visit these countries, to 
contemplate without anxiety the connexion forming 
between England and the Mediterranean. Our 
children may live to see the day, if we do not, when 
Idolatry and pure Religion shall come to the height 
of their conflict, antecedent to the triumph of the 
Gospel, in these vast regions. Where the British 
Name will appear in that — as yet unwritten — page 
of Universal History, is a question mainly depend- 
ing on the character of the present generation. 

2. But there is a duty owing — and a very impor- 



I MAGE* WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 441 

tant duty it is — to the people who are lying 

UNDER THE DELUSION OF THESE PSEUDO-CHRISTIAN 
IDOLATRIES. 

To pray for them, to reason with them, to abstain 
from participating in their sin, and to set them the 
higher example of pure worship and a consistent 
life — this, on our part, is that line of duty, to which 
the Romish, the Greek, and the other Oriental 
Churches, were they sensible of their corruption, 
would prefer a most touching claim. 

Insensible as they are of the guilt of their idola- 
tries and desperately enamoured of them, is their 
title to our compassion and our exertions thereby 
diminished? Rather, it is augmented ten-fold. But 
on whom does this reasonable duty devolve? Does 
it belong to the Governments, or to the Churches, 
the Residents, the Visitors, or the Missionaries, 
who may come in contact with these Superstitions ? 
The question rather is, Which of all these is ex- 
empt? Surely none of them. The grand consi- 
deration, never to be lost sight of, is the real sin- 
fulness of these Antichristian Superstitions ! To 
rebuke them as most pernicious absurdities, to 
prove their inexpediency, or to ridicule their folly, 
will have little weight. They are sins ; and, as 
such, offensive to Him, who has declared himself a 
jealous God. For the proof of this, the Reader 
need only be referred to the Second Command- 
ment ; or to the parting counsel of the last of the 
Apostles — Keep yourselves from idols. And if it 
should be rejoined, How is it possible that so large 
a portion of the professing Christian Church should 
have fallen into so gross a contradiction of Scrip- 
ture? — the reply is obvious, That the mass of 



442 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Christendom has been, for ages, debarred the use 
of the Scriptures. 

3. The remaining class, on whose behalf these 
remarks are made, comprises a great multitude of 
persons, for whom not Britain only, but many other 
nations, have latterly demonstrated a truly Christian 
regard. I mean, the unenlightened jews and ma- 

HOMEDANS. 

For the purpose of making the Gospel known to 
the Jews, there already exist various Societies : 
with regard to the Mahomedans, general Missiona- 
ries have been considered — although, perhaps, not 
with a sufficiently pointed designation — as intended 
for them. The approach to both these will be, in 
great measure, by the Mediterranean : but here it is 
that we find Christianity mainly corrupted. " And 
truth it is" — as the venerable Founders of our 
Church have powerfully and almost prophetically 
remarked {Homily against Peril of Idolatry : Part 3) 
in a spirit of enlarged charity and judgment, worthy 
of the best Missionary Age — " truth it is, that the 
Jews and Turks, who abhor images and idols, as 
directly forbidden by God's Holy Word, will never 
come to the truth of our Religion, whilst the stum- 
bling-blocks of images remain among us, and lie in 
their way." By no other means, in fact, can a Pro- 
testant expect to obtain a hearing with a Jew or 
Mahomedan, than by the distinct avowal, that these 
idolatrous corruptions are not only no part of Chris- 
tianity, but utterly contrary to it. 



The controversy relative to the Worship of Images 
and Saints is one peculiarly tending to agitate the 



IMAGE-WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 443 

most violent passions of mankind : it has therefore 
been the desire of the Author, while not concealing 
truth, yet to speak with that temper, which reason 
and charity demand. It is his earnest prayer to 
God, that, as this is a point which will probably 
never be suffered to rest, till the purity of Christ's 
Kingdom shall have been established in the earth, 
so all the friends of that Kingdom may have grace 
given them to confront and expose the delusions of 
the Powers of Darkness with courage, and, at the 
same time, with meekness of wisdom, 



444 



THE JEWS. 



A Missionary to the Jews has substantially the 
same work to do, as a Missionary to any other 
body of men ; namely, to preach to them the great 
doctrine, that God ivas in Christ, reconciling the 
world unto himself. The sole difference between 
the case of the Jews and that of any other body of 
men, (a Heathen Nation for example,) is, that we 
find the Jews in a different stage of opinion. The 
main point to be aimed at, in preaching to the one 
and to the other, is precisely the same : it is, to 
bring them to receive Christ as the power of God, 
and the wisdom of God, 

The very state of opinion among the Jews creates, 
however, a peculiar additional necessity for placing 
this doctrine and this object in the very clearest 
light. The actual civil condition of this people, 
their habits of thinking, their expectations, and their 
prospects have, all of them, a tendency to draw 
away their minds from the essential doctrine of 
Christ Crucified. It is scarcely possible to meet 
them in argument on their own ground, without 
obscuring the glory of the Gospel. This shall be 
illustrated in two important Scriptural subjects ; 
with regard to both of which it will be seen how 
widely the thoughts of the Jewish People have ever 
revolted, and still revolt, from that, which to believe 
is necessary to their entering the gate of the Chris- 
tian Dispensation. 



THE JEWS. 445 
1. The MESSIAH PROPHESIED OF IN THE OLD 
TESTAMENT, WAS TO BE A DIVINE, VET SUFFERING 

person. This is the well-established opinion of 
Christians : on the contrary, the Jews, in their ap- 
prehensions of the Messiah, neither rise so high as 
to believe him Divine, nor descend so low as to 
expect that he should suffer. They look for a 
King, earthly yet glorious, perfectly holy yet hu- 
man ; who is to reign triumphantly over the whole 
earth. It is not merely that they do not apprehend 
in what manner glory and suffering may be com- 
patible ; but they have not learnt, from their own 
Scriptures, that the character of the Messiah fore- 
told by the Prophets is the character of a man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief, despised, reject- 
ed, and put to death. Ought not Christ to have 
suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ? — is 
an argument, which they would meet with a direct 
negative : they see not that His humiliation was to 
lead to His exaltation : the veil is upon their hearts 
while they read Moses, and David, and Isaiah, and 
Daniel, and the other Prophets who distinctly fore- 
tell the lowly state of the Messiah. Hence, when 
we preach Christ Crucified, He is to the Jews a 
stumbling-block. But may Ministers of the Gospel 
endeavour to remove that stumbling-block, by exhi- 
biting exclusively, or even primarily, an animating 
view of Christ reigning gloriously upon earth, as 
He will do, when a voice from Heaven shall declare, 
The Kingdoms of this world are become the King-* 
dom of our Lord and of His Christ ? The attempt 
would be as fallacious, as it would be unscripturah 
The offence of the Cross must not, because it is 



446 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

offensive, be therefore* disguised. The Gentile is to 
be humbled : the Jew is to be humbled : both must 
learn to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The true doctrine of the Cross is, therefore, to be 
made the most prominent of all : till that is received, 
nothing is savingly received ; nor can it be admitted, 
till every high imagination be cast down. 

2. That Jesus of Nazareth is, in fact, the only 
Messiah ; that, being already come, He has wrought 
out man's redemption ; and, consequently, that the 

JEWS HAVE BEEN SUFFERING NOW THESE EIGHTEEN 
HUNDRED YEARS A SPECIAL PUNISHMENT ON AC- 
COUNT OF THEIR REJECTION AND MURDER OF THIS 
MESSENGER OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT OF 

peace — these are topics, which must come home, 
with the greatest poignancy, to the conscience of a 
Jew, in order to his real conversion. They shall 
look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they 
shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son ; 
and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in 
bitterness for his first-born. No less than the ten- 
derest imaginable sorrow and anguish will penetrate 
the soul of a Jew, in whom National feelings and 
Christian relentings shall have their proper force. 
Every one is led to expect that a brokenness of 
heart, a love to Christ, an adoring gratitude, a de- 
votedness to His service, at the hazard or even 
certainty of losing all things for Him— emotions not 
differing in kind from those which pious Christians 
experience, but surpassing them wonderfully in de- 
gree—will, in the general accomplishment of pro- 
phecy, characterize the truly-converted Jew. From 
this, however, the spirit of that people at present 



THE JEWS. t 447 

revolts. They are as far from the doctrine of ge- 
nuine repentance, as they are from that of the 
atonement. 

The feelings of many devout Christians are, in the 
present day, wound up to the highest pitch in favour 
of the Jews. Prophecy is explored — history is care- 
fully collated — conjecture catches at every probabi- 
lity — and even the sagacity of the Politician of this 
world is challenged to discern the signs of the times, 
and to sympathize with the earnest expectation of 
the friends of this people. All sincere Christians 
must surely rejoice at witnessing this excitement. 
Without great excitement, nothing great was ever 
done, or even attempted. But, in proportion to the 
force of this impulse, is the necessity of its receiving 
a wise and Scriptural direction. We would not 
presume to criticise either Prophecy or the Inter- 
pretations of Prophecy : but we would ask, What 
was it that distinguished the character of the Apostles 
and of St. Paul, who were all of them converted 
Jews ? Was it not a feeling of — one might almost say 
— inconceivable adoration at the view of this great 
mystery, god manifest in the flesh ? Even when 
the case of the Jews is the particular subject of their 
consideration, (as in Rom. ix. x. and xi.) do they 
not turn every thing to this sole end of the Law ? 
Whenever the doctrine of the Incarnate Redeemer 
comes before them, they seem to be filled with a 
Divine fulness, which can find no utterance. Or, 
rather, the doctrine is not accidentally or occasio- 
nally brought to their minds : they know nothing 
else — they determine to know nothing else— save 
Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified. 

If, then, in the various discussions and treatises 



448 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

to which the subject of the Conversion of the Jews 
gives rise, any thing else than this which the Apo- 
stles held forth in their discourses and writings 
should usurp the attention of the public mind, it 
seems to be the duty of Christian Ministers, not 
merely to disavow it, but to protest against it. No 
private interpretations should be suffered, for a mo- 
ment, to come into competition with the broad and 
obvious meaning of that Gospel, which testifies to 
Jew and Gentile repentance toward God and faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ. No vision of millennial 
glory must ever interfere to hide from the eye of 
faith that innumerable company, whose eternal and 
ever-new song is, Worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain ! Every thing, which is not in accordance 
with this strain, should be viewed with jealousy, as 
savouring not of the things of God, but of those of 
man. 

In what regards the restoration of the Jews to the 
land of their fathers, it is manifestly a subject in 
which Christians, whose wisdom consists in holy 
fear, will desire to follow Providence, and not lead. 
If, on the partition or allotment of nations, the pos- 
session of a particular region were to depend on the 
power to purchase it, the Jews have always been 
sufficiently rich to buy a larger tract of land than 
Palestine. If their settlement in that country is to 
grow out of a conviction, on the part of the most in- 
fluential Governments, that such a measure would 
be politically expedient, the expediency will doubt- 
less be made to appear by many concurring indica- 
tions, which will be well understood, in their season, 
by Christian Politicians. But how much beneath 
the standard of right feeling in a Christian Public, 



THE JEWS. 449 

would be such speculations on conquests, commer- 
cial contracts, or political expediency ! How easily 
might multitudes of Christians be misled on topics 
of this nature ! That, for which the contributions, 
the efforts, and the prayers of the religious part of 
mankind should be especially desired, in reference 
to the Jews, is no other than their spiritual conver- 
sion : here, no limit need be placed to guard the 
public mind against excess or error, but such as is 
common generally to all religious subjects. 

While the residence of the Jews as a Nation seems 
to be no proper subject for the excitement of public 
religious feeling, there is, nevertheless, one point in 
their temporal condition, which claims the strongest 
regard from Christian Benevolence. Humanity, 
but much more Christianity, requires, on their be- 
half, that, in whatsoever part of the world they may 
be scattered, they should be protected from insult, 
injury, and oppression. Systematic injustice is 
that which they have experienced in every age ; and, 
at various periods, in every nation, without excep- 
tion. The judgment of God inflicted upon them, 
through the medium of natural causes, has rendered 
them, in the social relations, what they are. Two 
features of character are most apparent in their 
history — the madness of the oppressed, and the 
meanness of the oppressed ; but, for these frightful 
characteristics, the oppressor is at least as responsi- 
ble as they. It is, however, gratifying to observe, 
that, in the present age, distinguished by a rising 
detestation of every kind of Slavery, the peculiar 
case of the Jews appears to be obtaining a propor- 
tionate share of public feeling. May these senti- 
ments in their favour continue, and increase a thou* 

G G 



450 NOTICES, 11 EM ARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

sand-fold ; till that time, when it shall please God 
to display the power of His Spirit, in gathering- 
together the lost sheep of the House of Israel into 
the fold of our Redeemer; making them as miracu- 
lous a monument of His free mercy, as they now 
are of His deserved judgments ! 

In the mean time, let it be considered how much 
is gained when one converted Jewish Missionary 
gives his heart and life to the service of his Master, 
Christ. There are some circumstances in such a 
character, which, when fully developed, may be re- 
garded as peculiarly conducive to his usefulness in 
Foreign Missions. The first is, that his conversion 
seems likely to be attended with an extraordinary 
degree of contrition, zeal, and affection : he, that 
hath had much forgiven, will love much. Another 
consideration is, that he has, from his very birth and 
by long habit, been accustomed to regard himself as 
without a local, national habitation of his own : he 
feels, consequently, that although England, or 
France, or Germany, or any other country, may give 
him the title, and in many cases the reality, of pro- 
tection ; yet he cannot look to Judaea and say, 
" There is my king; there is my government; and 
there is my home :" thus one of the strongest ties to 
earth exists not in his case : in reference to all the 
social relations of this world, his national character 
is already that of a stranger, and a wanderer, and 
an expectant. Such a person, under the powerful 
influence of Divine Grace, seems to be, in his out- 
ward training, better furnished for apostolic labours, 
than the native of any civilized and established 
country. Should he manifest an early disposition 
to visit distant lands, he is not so much entangled 



THE JEWS. 451 

by the tender apprehensions of the domestic circle : 
all his kindred are familiar with foreign life ; most 
of them have already suffered many vicissitudes ; 
and their unquiet thoughts, if not their pilgrim feet, 
have roved far and wide on the surface of the Globe. 
Should he, in countries where the government is 
oppressive, meet with obstacles, indignities, or in- 
juries, his national history, and probably his speci- 
fic education, has taught him how to suffer, to evade, 
to surmount, or even turn to his advantage, circum- 
stances which would throw a domesticated English- 
man into despair. He enters the wide field of the 
world, intending to visit people of many kindreds 
and tribes and tongues, with the certain prospect of 
encountering the most untoward circumstances ; but 
then he enters with a tact of mind, which to the 
Jew alone is national ; his, in all its indescribable 
detail, is, in truth, the motto, Vincit qui patitur. 
Imagine the case, then, of a Converted Jew devoted 
to the w ork of Missions, and passing from land to 
land, and from continent to continent, on that em- 
bassage ; suppose, further, the love of Christ to be 
deeply impressed on his heart, and his temper to 
remain unsettled and unattached to any spot ; and 
we have an image before our minds of a character, 
perhaps more nearly Apostolical, and better adapted 
for the founding of New Churches, than could in 
any other situation be conceived. If there be another 
Paul, or Peter, or Barnabas to arise ; from what 
country might we expect such a character, if not 
from that people who possess on earth no country ? 

Waving, however, what may to some appear too 
much like a matter of speculation ; and acknow- 
ledging, that, after all, the Great Head of the Church 

g g 2 



452 NOTICES, REMARKS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 

acts herein as Sovereign, bestowing his gifts very 
differently from our calculations ; there is yet, in 
this view of Jewish Character, something' which 
conveys a most instructive lesson to every Christian 
Missionary. He, more especially, who w ould un- 
dertake the office of an Evangelist to the Jews, 
must be fully prepared to suffer the contempt of 
many, who will despise him, because they despise 
the objects of his Mission. More than this : he 
may, in some countries, expect to share their op- 
pressions ; and, instead of having any hope of civil 
protection at hand, he must before God betake him- 
self to prayer ; and, like a poor man, use toward 
the oppressor, many entreaties, and much Christian 
persuasion. Let a Missionary to the Jews settle in 
Jerusalem : let him take, as a model for his man- 
ner of life, that touching description of the Re- 
deemer, In all their affliction, lie teas afflicted: let 
him to the Jews become as a Jew — they will then 
love him, for his sympathy ; understand him, for his 
resemblance to them ; and, for his self-devotedness, 
put faith in him and in his w ords. To Missionaries 
of this stamp, in fact, and to such alone, can it ever 
be expected that God will grant the honour of ex- 
tensive success ; whether it be among Jews or Gen- 
tiles, that they are sent to labour, 



153 



APPEAL FOR MORE LABOURERS. 



In the Mediterranean there are not more than five 
or six Clergymen of the United Church engaged in 
promoting the objects of Religious Societies. It 
may, therefore, be useful to notice, somewhat in 
detail, the different feelings which may probably 
sway the minds of some young and pious persons, 
and restrain them from giving themselves to the 
work of Missions. 

Some, it may be, are reluctant to resign the com- 
forts, the quiet, and the society of their Native 
Land, for the inconveniences, the insecure or un- 
certain circumstances, and the limited choice of 
companions, incident to many Foreign Stations : it 
is also a great trial to a reflecting and feeling mind, 
to see that a Missionary may bring his wife and 
children into circumstances, where there may be 
little society, or perhaps only evil examples all 
around them ; and that, consequently, for the pur- 
poses of education or in cases of necessity, there 
may be many painful separations : others may shrink 
back under the apprehension of lingering sicknesses 
or early death. But they who have not grace to 
resign their attachments to home, to encounter the 
risk of domestic trials, and to overcome the appre- 
hension of disease and death, are not desirable 
Candidates for the Missionary Office. 



454 APPEAL FOR MORE LABOURERS. 

Possibly some may, either from their habits of 
life or from an ambitious temper, feel as though to 
enter into the service of a Missionary Society, and to 
toil abroad among the ignorant and the degraded, 
were to humble themselves too low, and to become 
too much the servants of others, and too little their 
own masters. It is manifest, that where such high 
imaginations reign, the heart is altogether unfit for 
this branch of the service of Him, who came, not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a 
ransom for many. Where, however, this kind of pride 
is the besetting sin of a man, but is bewailed and re- 
sisted in the spirit of evangelical self-abasement and 
self-sacrifice, he ought not, from a consciousness of 
his infirmity, to stand aloof : but rather, so much 
the more willingly, take upon himself Christ's yoke; 
and expect, in faith, to receive that grace which will 
enable him, not to mind high things, but to conde- 
scend to men of low estate. 

Some may over-rate the difficulty of learning to 
speak foreign languages; or they maybe disheartened 
by the apprehension of a long and seemingly unprofi- 
table interval, during which they will not be able to 
minister to edification among those to whom they are 
sent: generally, it is very discouraging to an adult, 
to find himself placed in a situation, in which there is 
so much preliminary w ork, before he can consider 
himself fairly engaged in his main business; and this 
discouragement is peculiarly felt in Christian Mis- 
sions — a work, in its very nature, so entirely distinct 
from the affairs which incessantly interest the men of 
this world : while not a few may conceive that the 
apparent and immediate usefulness of their Ministry 
in England, is greater than it would probably be in 



APPEAL FOil MORE LABOURERS. 455 

a Heathen Land ; and it is difficult for a zealous and 
fervent man, to content himself with the prospect of 
sowing for thirty or forty years, and of then dying 
and leaving others to reap the harvest. If, indeed, 
the requisite ability for the acquisition of a new 
tongue be wanting, this is a sufficient indication that 
the post of duty is at home ; and it may be hoped 
that the opportunities of making such trials, in re- 
ference to the languages of the Unchristian World, 
before Missionaries leave their native land, may be 
so increased, as not only to obviate the disappoint- 
ment and loss which have sometimes arisen from this 
discovery being made too late, but to prepare Mis- 
sionaries of competent ability before they leave their 
own country to enter on immediate service when 
they reach their destination : where such ability is 
possessed, and the best available means of prepara- 
tion are employed, all discouraging anticipations 
must be mastered and subdued by faith in the word 
of Him who hath said My grace is sufficient for 
thee! 

It may be further mentioned, that some persons 
— critical and speculative men, indeed, rather than 
devout and practical— comparing the state of things 
around them with that of the Apostolic Age, per- 
ceive in many respects so great a contrast, that they 
are mistrustful of a system which does not appear 
to be blessed with that manifest and abundant effu- 
sion of the Holy Spirit, which attended the labours 
of the early disciples of our Lord. But sentiments 
like these indicate a mind seeking excuses for not 
entering on a decisive and resolute course of action. 
He, who desires to feel rightly and scripturally in 



450 APPEAL FOR MOKE LABOURERS. 

reference to the subject of the propagation of the 
Gospel in the world, will look for motives, wisdom, 
encouragement, and success, not to Man, but to the 
Great Head of the Church. Our lot might have 
been cast in a day or in a country, which should 
have given us no hope whatever from the Rulers of 
the Visible Church, or from any persons distin- 
guished for their public influence ; while the poorer 
classes, instead of being as they were in primitive times, 
rich in faith, might have been sunk in the grossest 
viciousness and stupidity. Between such a de- 
graded and discouraging state and the primitive ful- 
ness of Apostolical Light and Love, there are many 
gradations : in every condition, however, of the 
Church, it should be our principle to look up to 
God alone, for our motive and our strength. Even 
a single individual may confidently hope, that he 
may be rendered the instrument of much good, if he 
follow the Divine Guidance with simplicity and 
heartfelt zeal. 

That it has been granted, in the present day, to 
numbers of every rank and station, to imbibe the 
genuine spirit of the Gospel, is ground for adoring 
gratitude. Whatever, in a comparison of our own 
day with primitive times, may tend to discourage 
us, let us remember that we serve the God of all 
grace; and that as our prayers are, so will His gifts 
be. If we keep our eye stedfastly on Him, who has 
promised to be with His Church al way, even unto 
the end of the world, we shall have an unchange- 
able hope — a hope ever aspiring after higher things : 
mutual distrusts and murmurings will have no 
place where to stay: whatever be the state of the 



APPEAL FOR MORE LABOURERS. 457 

Communion to which we belong, we shall be found 
aiming at a pure standard ; sceptical fancies will 
give way before a hearty resolution to work : and 
He, who has afforded the encouragement, will 
vouchsafe also the fulfilment of His promises ; 
granting to the Visible Church an extensive revival 
of piety, and adding to its numbers, from every 
country, such as shall be saved. 

Why then do we look one on another, when the 
cause is that of the Gospel ? — when we are called to 
fulfil the ministry of reconciliation, between God our 
Father and a world that yet lieth in wickedness ? 
If the Apostolic Age be to return, let each indivi- 
dual aim at the character of that age. Yet, not 
with a mounting spirit of vain-glory or self-confi- 
dence, let any man hear this Appeal. He, who 
goes forth in the spirit of an Apostle, will go forth 
meek and contrite — tender and lowly in heart — de- 
siring more and more to put on Christ, and to crucify 
the flesh with the affections and lusts. Such men, 
Christ alone can raise up ; but, in answer to un- 
ceasing prayer for His Holy Spirit, He can and 
will send forth such Missionaries. We have not to 
fear, as though the streams of His mercy were ex- 
haustible : we have only to fear, lest our desires 
should be straitened, our hope soon spent, and our 
faith fall short of the promises. That King of 
Israel, who, at the command of the Prophet Elisha 
to smite upon the ground, smote thrice and stayed, is 
too true an emblem of our limited zeal. We pause 
to doubt, when we should press on to conquer. — 
May such reflections as these, with much study of 
the Word of God and fervent prayer, strengthen the 



458 APPEAL FOR MORE LABOURERS. 

hearts of all Christians — shame them for their past 
supineness and secularity — inspire them with new 
and enlarged views — and lead many, especially the 
younger Ministers of the Church of Christ, to come 
forth and fulfil the Word of God, proclaiming the 
glory of the mystery of the Gospel among the 
Gentiles ! 



JOURNAL 

OF A 

VISIT TO SOME PARTS OF TUNIS, 

BY 

Mr. JOSEPH GREAVES. 



VOYAGE TO TUNIS. 

Friday, Oct. 22, 1824—1 left Malta for Tunis, in the brig 
Diligente, Captain Antonio Capiello ; having received from 
the Bible Society 547 Copies of the Holy Scriptures or por- 
tions thereof, principally in Arabic, Italian, Greek, and He- 
brew, and from the Rev. Mr. Temple 600 Tracts in Greek 
and Italian. The sale and gratuitous distribution of these 
will occupy a considerable part of my time. I propose, in 
addition, to make a beginning in the preparation of Arabic 
School-Books ; and to endeavour to obtain such general in- 
formation relative to the state of the people, as may, in some 
degree, serve as a guide to future endeavours on behalf of 
the numerous and long-neglected tribes of North- Africa. It 
is a sphere of labour, which seems naturally to claim from 
Malta a large share of what may be furnished by her Bible, 
Education, and Missionary Institutions. 

Saturday, Oct. 23 — We found ourselves, this morning, about 
20 miles distant from Gozo ; and made but little progress 
during a great part of the day. 

Sunday, Oct. 24 — A fresh breeze springing up yester- 
day evening, we were, this morning, in sight of Pante- 
laria : the land is high, and may be seen at a considerable 
distance. There is a small town at the north-west end of 



402 APPENDIX. 

the Island : passing near the land, we had the opportunity of 
seeing the town, which appeared capable of containing 1000 
inhabitants, or upward. We observed also a few houses 
scattered among the hills. This Island is a possession of the 
King of Naples. 

ARRIVAL AT TUNIS. 

The wind continuing favourable the whole day, we were at 
ten a.m. in sight of Cape Bon; and, entering the bay of 
Tunis at four in the afternoon, we came to anchor in the roads 
at midnight, after a pleasant passage of only 58 hours. 

The Crew of the Diligente consists of ten individuals, in- 
cluding the Captain and Clerk. None of the Sailors can 
read : they are Neapolitans and Livornese. Being unwell 
during the voyage from sea-sickness, I had but few opportu- 
nities for conversation : I have found, however, as on other 
occasions, that whenever I speak to them religiously, all rea- 
dily admit the truth of my observations, and then return to 
their accustomed levity and thoughtlessness. 

Monday, Oct. 25, 1824 — There is good anchorage in the 
Roads of Tunis ; but they are much exposed to the north- 
east. During a violent gale from this quarter about four 
years ago, several merchant-vessels were driven on shore : 
the Bey also lost the greater part of his fleet, and nearly 2000 
seamen. We are lying in about six fathom water, with a 
view of Tunis, Cape Carthage, and the Mountains called 
" del Piombo," with the Island of Zimbra, and Cape Bon. 
At the foot of one of the hills on the opposite side of the 
Roads to Cape Carthage, are the celebrated Baths of Korbus, 
anciently called Carpis. 

Seignior Gaspari, Agent at the Goletta for several Euro- 
pean Consuls, came alongside, and made various inquiries : 
we afterward went into the Canal, and delivered our Letters 
to the Superintendant of the Health Department. The 
Goletta (a wcrd signifying " the throat," in diminutive) is the 
channel of communication between the Roads and the Lake 
of Tunis : the Canal, if distinguished from the Goletta, is an 
artificial continuation of this channel ; and forms a small port 
of about forty feet in width, and deep enough for vessels o 
small burden to enter with their cargoes. 



VOYAGE TC TUNIS. 403 
Including our own, there are eight vessels lying in the 
Roads, and three or four lying in the Canal: namely, four 
French, one Swedish, one Maltese, and the remainder Ge- 
noese, Tuscan, and Neapolitan. 

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1824 — A cold wind set in from the north- 
west, accompanied by a good deal of rain. We removed into 
the Canal, to complete our quarantine of eight days : this is 
the shortest term to which merchant vessels are subject ; Malta 
being placed upon the same footing as European Ports. The 
expense of lying in the Canal is a dollar or half-a-dollar a 
day, according to the size of the vessel. The Quarantine 
Regulations, as might be expected in a Barbary Port, are not 
very strict ; and the measure may be considered rather as 
designed to increase the revenue, than as proceeding from 
any particular regard for the public safety. Passengers are 
sometimes permitted to leave the vessel, and to walk along 
the fortifications and on the sea-shore. 

There are two forts at the Goletta, and a third at the dis- 
tance of a mile or less, on the neck of land which divides the 
Sea from the Lake. Those at the Goletta, judging from 
the number and size of the cannon, appear to me to be 
strong : but they are in bad repair ; and many of the guns, 
from the decayed state of the carriages, would probably be 
unmanageable after the first discharge. 

Toward the evening of this day, while walking the deck 
of the vessel, I was suddenly surprised by hearing my own 
language spoken. On turning round, I observed a man in 
the Moorish dress, on the point of passing on : perceiving that 
he was an Englishman, I spoke to him : in answer to my in- 
quiries, he stated that he had been in the navy, and that he 
had seen a good deal of service : from his mentioning Abou- 
kir, I conclude that he was at the Battle of the Nile : he had 
served, he said, under Sir John Moore : to my observation, 
that I perceived that he had denied his Saviour, he replied 
that hard treatment would drive a man to any thing. About 
this time another stepped forward, and seemed desirous of 
shewing that he, also, was an Englishman: he was more 
shabbily dressed than the other, and appeared to be in an 



4G4 API' E N I) I X . 

inferior situation : he stated that he had served on board a 
British ship-of-war, and that he had never received a lash 
but once : they were here, he added, to enjoy a degree of 
liberty. I replied, that no one could wish to enjoy greater 
liberty than in England. They both said, " Yes — in Eng- 
land." " And on board," I continued, " no one is punished, 
unless for bad conduct, and after proper investigation." They 
said that this was not the case. I added, " Well, I am sorry 
to see two of my countrymen in such a situation. Recollect, 
however, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, 
and is ready to receive all who return to Him with sincere 
repentance." They both said that they could read. On my 
asking them if they had Bibles, one replied, hastily, " No : 
we have not those books here," and seemed anxious to go 
away. I dismissed them with the observation, that we do not 
live only for this world ; and pressed on them to remember 
what I had said. The one to whom I first spoke said that he 
was a native of Dublin : the other said that he was a native 
of London. Both of them gave me their former names. 
They are both employed in the dock- yard of the Bey. 

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 1824 — A sharp wind from the north- 
west renders it necessary to put on winter clothing. 

One of the English Renegadoes passed me two or three 
times this morning, but I had no further conversation with 
him. My fellow-passenger informs me that they were both 
on board the Tunisine Frigate " Cavallo di Mare," when 
he was visited at sea some time back ; and that his papers 
were put into the hands of one of them for examination ; that 
is, to say whether they were English. 

Seignior Gaspari came alongside, to see if we were in want 
of any thing ; and Mr. Tulin, British Pro-Consul, has been 
so kind as to send his Dragoman with fresh provisions and 
offers of services. 

Thursday, Oct. 28 — Three Algerine ships-of-war have come 
into the bay. 

Our guardian informs me that he is a native of Leghorn, 
and that he has there a wife and three children. He cannot 
read himself, but says that his children go to school. He was 



VISIT TO TU NTS. 



405 



wrecked off Bona, some time back ; and is now waiting for 
an opportunity of returning to Italy. 

The boat of the Swedish Vessel lying in the Roads coming 
into the Canal, gave me an opportunity of conversing with 
some of the men. Their crew consists of 14 individuals. 
They can all read ; and have the Bible and other religious 
l>ooks on board, which their Captain is always willing to lend 
them. The Mate reads prayers, every morning and evening. 
They have the Sunday to themselves ; except when portions 
of their cargo are sent alongside, which is here sometimes the 
case : they are then obliged to work. I pointed out to them 
the advantages which they enjoy, compared with Mahome- 
dans, who were passing and repassing ; and their increased 
responsibility, in consequence. Among these Mahomedans 
were the two English Renegadoes : being pointed out to me 
by one of the Swedes, I replied that I knew them ; and added, 
that when a course of sin is once entered upon, no one can 
say to what lengths it may lead him. I concluded by re- 
minding them that we are all sinners, and must all look to 
Christ for Salvation. 

Sent Tracts to the Master of a Tuscan Vessel lying 
near us. 

A well-dressed man, whom I saw at the Health Office the 
day after my arrival, has occasionally bowed to me. Asking 
me to-day if I was an Englishman, and receiving for answer 
that I was, he said that he was my humble servant. On 
further inquiry, I find him to be a Greek ; one of many 
others, for the most part women and children, who have 
been brought hither at different times : to save his life, he 
has embraced the Mahomedan Faith. 

Our Guardian expressing a desire to have Tracts for the 
use of his children, I supplied him with a copy of several in 
Italian. 

Friday, Oct. 29 — A vessel belonging to a person in some 
way connected with the Government having been admitted to 
pratique after five days' quarantine, a similar indulgence has 
been extended to us ; but we are not to proceed to Tunis till 
the afternoon. 

ii li 



JOG APPENDIX. 

An Italian Captain dined with ns, who had hecn for 14 
years a Slave in Algiers. He was set at liberty in 1816, in 
consequence of the Treaty made by Lord Exmouth. Every 
caravan, he informs me, from Algiers to the interior, was 
accustomed, beside various merchandize, to bring Slaves. 
They were treated, he says, " come tanti animali" — " like so 
many brutes." It was the custom to expose them for three 
days for examination, and then to liberate them to the 
highest bidder. He thinks about 300 to have been the 
average number sold in the course of a year. Sometimes, 
the owner would sell two or three of a family together : at 
other times, they were separated. The caravans used to 
arrive about three times a year. The Bey was in the habit 
of sending presents of all descriptions of them to the Grand 
Seignior. This Captain further states, that a boat containing 
a number of these poor creatures passed through the Canal 
for Tunis a few days ago. 

I left the Diligente at half-past-two p. m., and proceeded to 
Tunis in a Sandali, belonging to a Genoese, who is generally 
employed by Europeans. These " Sandali" are a good- 
sized kind of boat, some with one and others with two lateen 
sails, which ply between Tunis and the Goletta, and are used 
as lighters for loading and unloading vessels. The Lake is 
about seven miles across : the general depth of it does not, I 
am told, exceed three or four feet : this would appear im- 
probable, but I can readily give credit to the statement, as 
the boat touched the ground (loose ground, not rock or 
stone) several times during the two or three tacks, which, the 
wind being contrary, we had to make in crossing. There is 
a small island, about two-thirds of the distance across ; and 
upon it a building, which is at present used as a Lazaretto : 
the island appeared to be less than half-a-mile in circum- 
ference. 

We arrived on the opposite shore a little before five; and 
were immediately assailed by a host of porters, quarrelling 
for our luggage. Their appearance was very wretched; and 
their importunity so great, that it would have been quite im- 
possible not to come in contact with them — a circumstance 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 467 

by no means agreeable in countries subject to the plague ; 
and avoided, as much as is practicable, by many Europeans. 

My trunks were opened between the Marina, or landing- 
place, and the town ; but not very closely examined. A few 
bottles of wine were taken from me ; but were returned almost 
immediately. On seeing a little medicine, the Officers began 
instantly to complain of some bodily infirmity : for in Bar- 
bary, as in other places, the English are generally thought 
by the people to know something of physic. 

Saturday, Oct. 30, 1824— Called on Mr. Tulin. The fol- 
lowing notes of conversation will give a general idea of the 
population, and of the different classes inhabiting Tunis. 

It is impossible to form a correct estimate of the population 
°f either the City or Regency of Tunis. In the country, 
there are many tribes which are frequently moving from one 
place to another. About 120,000, Mr. Tulin considers a fair 
computation of the population of the town and suburbs. 

Of this number, there may be 30,000 Jews. The Native 
or Tunisine Jews are distinguished from Mahomedans by 
their dress, not being allowed to wear the red scull-cap 
under the turban : it must be black, or dark -blue : they are 
sometimes very ill-treated, but are not liable to greater exac- 
tions than the Moors. The European Jews wear hats, and 
speak chiefly Spanish or Italian : their number does not ex- 
ceed 2000 at the most : they have considerable connections in 
Leghorn. The Native Jews speak the Arabic of the country, 
but their books are in Hebrew. There is not much cordiality 
between the two classes ; rather, I am informed, division and 
animosity. A few of the Tunisine Jews by purchase, and 
others through interest, enjoy the privilege of wearing the 
European Dress. 

There is a Roman-Catholic Convent and Church in Tunis ; 
and there is also a Chapel in the French Consulate. The 
Christians of this Communion are, for the most part, under 
the superintendance of the Padre Prefetto, an aged Capuchin 
Friar. 

There are a good many Carbonari in Tunis ; who have 

H H 2 



108 



APPENDIX. 



been exiled from Naples, in consequence of their political 
opinions. Two or three of them are Priests. 

The Protestant Christians are few in number. They con- 
sist of the family of the English Vice-Consul, those of the 
Danish, Swedish, and American Consuls, and two or three 
other individuals ; in all, fewer than thirty souls. Some of 
them receive the Sacrament in the Greek Church ; and avail 
themselves of the services of the Greek Papas, for marriages, 
baptisms, and burials. There are, however, many things in 
the Greek Church, in which a Protestant cannot unite. 

There is a Slave Market in Tunis. Mr. Tulin states that 
he has seen Slaves brought in by fifty or sixty at a time : he 
cannot say how many may arrive in the course of a year. 
They are brought from the interior to Gadamis, about 300 
miles nearly due south of Tunis, and about 150 miles south- 
west-by-west of Tripoli, and from thence distributed to va- 
rious places. Mentioning that a boat containing a number 
of Slaves lately passed through the Canal, Mr. Tulin replied 
that they were probably from Sfax or Susa. 

The Moors have Schools, but do not use printed books. 
Some of the better classes are becoming less bigotted in this 
respect ; and a few of them have received copies of the Scrip- 
tures from curiosity. " If it should be thought," Mr. Tulin 
adds, " that you have any intention of making them Chris- 
tians, they would be very angry." I replied that it would be 
a great point gained, if we could make them better men — less 
oppressive. Having stated that the Book of Genesis had 
been printed, principally with a view to Mahomedans, and 
that the Arabic Psalter was much liked in Syria as a school- 
book, Mr. Tulin answered, that neither would be received 
into the Moorish Schools. Mr. Tulin observing that he sup- 
posed Malta was by this time well supplied with the Scrip- 
tures, I stated that it was not the case; the Clergy of the 
Romish Church being, for the most part, inimical to their 
circulation ; and that the operations of the Bible Society had 
been principally out of Malta. 

Called on Captain Falbe, Danish Consul-General, and left 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 469 

two Letters which I had brought for him from Malta. He 
has left his Card in return. 

Dined with an English Merchant, who has been established 
here three or four years. He thinks that the population of 
Tunis does not exceed 70,000. A great many died of the 
plague, about four years since. 

The summer is said to be a great deal hotter in Tunis than 
in Malta; particularly during the prevalence of the Siroc 
winds, when the heat is almost as great in the houses, as in 
the streets. 

The gates of the town are shut a little after sun-set ; and it 
is not customary to pass through the streets after dark without 
a lantern. The police is strict. 

Sunday t Oct. 31, 1824— Went to the Church in the Roman- 
Catholic Convent. It is about 40 feet long and 20 wide, and 
quite secluded from the street. There were about 50 persons 
present, chiefly females and children. The younger women 
were without bonnets, or any other covering on their heads ; 
and the general appearance of their dress was such as would 
give a Mahomedan an unfavourable idea of the propriety of 
Christian Worship. 

Called on the Greek Papas, and had a good deal of conver- 
sation with him. The Greeks amount to about 200 ; namely, 
40 British and 160 Ottoman Subjects. They are not well 
supplied with the Scriptures. Their Church is under British 
protection. The English, Danish, and Swedish Consuls at- 
tend on particular festivals, such as Christmas Day and Easter. 
The Ottoman Greeks are much oppressed, and are not allowed 
to leave the precincts of the city. There are several women 
and children at Bardo, (the residence of the Bey,) who have 
been compelled to turn Mahomedans. Recommending strongly 
to the Papas, to read two or three Chapters of the New 
Testament in Modern Greek every Sunday in the Church, he 
said that it was not their custom: they read the Scriptures 
at home. Their Service is early in the morning : about 60 
generally attend : some come one Sunday, and some another. 
The remainder of our conversation was relative to the use 



170 



A PPLNDIX. 



of images and pictures, the invocation of Saints, and the me- 
diation of the Virgin Mary, &c. He acknowledged that there 
was nothing of this in the Holy Scriptures; but said that the 
Fathers had established the usage and doctrine, and that there- 
fore it was to be presumed they had reasons for so doing. 

Monday, Nov. 1, 1824 — Called on our Consul, and requested 
him to send me an Arabic Master, of whom he had previously 
spoken. 

Mr. Tulin has been so kind as to accompany me through 
the town. It is situated about half-a-mile from the Lake. 
Including the suburbs, it is from four to five miles in circum- 
ference. From an unfinished Palace of the Bey, I counted 
nineteen minarets ; but the largest Mosque and some minor 
ones are without them. Part of the town is built on rising 
ground ; but the ascent is very gradual, and in most parts 
almost imperceptible. The streets are narrow, generally un- 
paved and very dirty. The houses are built of narrow bricks, 
or flat tiles, and plastered. A considerable part of the town 
is in a very dilapidated condition : the exterior, however, of 
the houses is not a fair criterion of their internal comfort, in 
countries, where, as it was expressed to me, " it is a sin to be 
thought rich." The principal trades, such as those of shoe- 
makers, tailors, gunsmiths, venders of oil-of- roses, and manu- 
facturers of the scull-cap, are carried on in Bazaars. Ad- 
joining one of these is the Slave Market : it is, as near as I 
could judge, about 30 feet long and 20 wide : there is an ele- 
vated stage in the centre, about two feet high, with a railing 
round it. No Slaves were exposed for sale when we visited 
it ; but there are generally some in the market every day of 
the week, except Friday, which is the Mahomedan Sabbath. 

The Tunisines are, at present, poor : they were much im- 
poverished by a famine, with which the country was visited 
some years back, when they had to purchase corn at a very 
high rate. 

Walking through the town, two or three Schools were 
pointed out to me; but the interior of them was not visible 
from the street. The children, I was informed, after learning 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 47 1 

the alphabet, are instructed in sentences from the Koran 
Female Education is totally neglected : there may, possibly, 
be one here and there who can read a little, but it is a very 
rare case. The Jews, that is the men, very generally can 
read Hebrew. 

There being, comparatively, but few houses in Tunis which 
are let to Christians, a family might probably have to wait a 
year or two, or even longer, before they could meet with one. 
Apartments, sufficiently commodious for an individual, are 
occasionally to be found. It is doubtful whether a Mahome- 
dan, under all the circumstances of the country, might be in- 
duced, by an additional rent, to let a house, not hitherto inha- 
bited by Christians, to an individual or family of that pro- 
fession. Neither Christians nor Jews can become pro- 
prietors, either of houses or land : it would not, therefore, be 
practicable to build, except by special permission. In con- 
sequence of these circumstances, the rent of houses in the 
Christian Quarter is considered dear, in proportion to the 
price of provisions : of these, bread, meat, and oil, are cheap. 
Wine is contraband, but it is imported under the name of 
vinegar. The pay of a day-labourer employed by private 
persons is somewhat less than a shilling sterling : the Bey, 
however, frequently obliges many to work for him for a less sum. 

The Consuls, in Tunis, are, the English, Danish, Swedish, 
French, Neapolitan, Sardinian, Dutch, and American. The 
Dutch Consul is also Agent for some other nations. Algiers, 
Tripoli, and, I believe, Morocco, have also their Agents. 

The manufactures of Tunis are chiefly woollen : such as, 
shawls, cloaks, mantles, and coverlits ; and are principally 
used by the natives and residents. The red scull-cap, it is 
well known, was formerly a very considerable article of ex- 
portation to the Levant : shipments are still made, but not so 
frequently as heretofore. 

The Bey has about 10,000 troops in his pay — consisting of 
4000 Turks, or Levantines : and 6000 Zwowahs, natives of 
the country, to keep the others in check, and prevent that inso- 
lence and insubordination which a feeling of superiority, un- 
restrained by any principle, would prompt them to manifest ; 



-172 APPENDIX. 

threatening the Government with all the evils of a military 
despotism, such as actually exists in the Kingdom of 
Algiers. 

Z wo wah is, I believe, the general name for Moorish Sol- 
diers : those in the service of the Bey are enlisted from va- 
rious mountain-tribes of North Africans *. They are entirely 
undisciplined ; and it is not considered safe to travel, while 
they are abroad for the collection of the tax on the produce 
of the land, flocks, &c, which is particularly the case during 
the corn and oil seasons. 

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 1824 — A blowing, rainy day. Kept the 
house, and occupied myself in arranging materials for an 
Arabic Spelling-book. 

The " Imperial Inn," in which I have taken a room, is far 
more comfortable than what I expected to find in Tunis : it 
has been kept by a Genoese for about twenty years, and is 
chiefly frequented by Masters of merchant-vessels : the daily 
expense, including breakfast, dinner, supper, and sleeping- 
room, is about a dollar : for another separate apartment, 
which cannot always be had, a small additional charge is 
made. There is another Inn, called the " English Inn," 
kept also by an Italian ; but the accommodations, it is said, 
are far inferior. 

It was stated, in a conversation between two Masters of 
European merchant-vessels yesterday while at dinner, that 
there was a good freight for Algiers. The cargo mentioned 
was Negroes. It being replied by the Captain to whom the 
proposal was made, that he should expose himself to risk by 
taking them, it was answered, that he had only to make a 
declaration before his Consul that they were free people. It 
is to be hoped that the laws of European Nations relative to 
this abominable traffic are not thus easily evaded. 

* " The Zwowak, the richest and most numerous Kabyles of this 
Province, possess a large and impenetrable Tract of Mountains to 
the eastward of the Sebowe." (Shaw's Travels, page 101.) He 
adds also, that they have a College, and maintenance for 500 Tlia- 
lebs. " But Kou-kou, where their Shekh or Sultan, as they call 
him, resides, is their principal village." (Ibid.) 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 473 

Wednesday, Nov. 3— Began an Arabic Spelling-book, to 
comprise the following heads:— 1. The Alphabet, arranged 
both regularly and promiscuously — 2. The Initial, Medial, 
and Final Letters— 3. The Letters which can be joined to 
those which precede them, but not to those that follow them 
— 4. The Vowel Signs — 5. The other orthographical Signs — 
6. The Numerals— 7. Syllables of two Letters— 8. Syllables 
composed of a Consonant and a Vowel Sign — 9. A Selection 
of Words of two, three, four, and more Syllables — 10. The 
Lord's Prayer — 11. The Ten Commandments — 12. A selec- 
tion of Sentences from the Book of Proverbs — 13. A Selection 
from the Psalms of David— 14. A Selection from the Four 
Gospels. For the use of Mahomedans, instead of those 
parts which relate to our Saviour and to Christian Doctrine, 
something else must be substituted : for example, the Fables 
of Lokmann, or a Collection of Arabic Sayings. 

The Greek Papas called upon me, and remained some 
time. His observations and inquiries were chiefly respecting 
the state of affairs in Greece. Some Tracts in Greek which 
I gave him, he promised to distribute among the Members 
of his Church. 

Thursday, Nov. 4 — Arabic Lessons, the principal part 
of the day. Gave some Italian Tracts to a son of the Inn- 
keeper. 

Friday, Nov, 5 — Called on the Danish Consul, Captain 
Falbe. He is a married man, and has three children. Our 
conversation was chiefly on subjects connected with the distri- 
bution of the Scriptures, Missions, and Slavery. He thinks 
that 300 is too low an estimate of the average number of 
Slaves annually imported into Tunis. The Market opens 
about eight o'clock in 4he morning. It is a custom, on the 
decease of persons of rank, to grant manumission to one or 
more of these poor creatures : for this purpose, the least ser- 
viceable are generally selected ; not, it would appear, from 
motives of humanity, but because they are to be procured for 
less money. 

Speaking of the Protestant Christian- Families, Captain 
Falbe confessed that the want of Public Worship is much to 



474 APPENDIX. 

be lamented : it was the custom of Mrs. Falbe and himself, 
he stated, to have a prayer in the morning : sometimes he 
goes to the Catholic Church : he agreed that there are many 
things there very disagreeable to the feelings of a Protestant, 
but finds that a spirit of devotion may be excited : if the se- 
veral Consuls, I said, would unite for social Worship, a Con- 
gregation of from twenty to thirty might be collected : he 
replied that it would be very good ; but that there were dif- 
ferences of opinion among Protestants. Entering on the 
subject of Education, he informed me that there is a College 
where Mahomedans are taught Theology, and, as he had 
understood, a little Mathematics and Physic ; but that there 
is nothing like general instruction : it is not open to Christians. 
Alluding to the condition of the people, he stated that they 
are much oppressed ; and, that being the case, they are satis- 
fied with what is barely sufficient for their maintenance : if a 
Moor has a house, or is known to be accumulating a little 
property, he is almost sure to be molested in the enjoyment 
of it : the agriculturist is obliged to sell his produce to the 
Bey ; and the price fixed is generally so low, as to leave him 
very little profit. 

Called on the Greek Priest, with some Tracts for a few 
Greek Boys, who go to him for instruction : there were ten 
present, partly British and partly Ottoman subjects, and from 
eight to thirteen years old. He immediately distributed the 
Tracts to such as could read. 

Saturday, Nov. 6, 1824 — Arabic Lessons the greater part 
of the day. In the evening, I called on Mr. Pearson. He 
informed me that he had distributed the principal part of the 
Scriptures placed at his disposal by the Committee of the 
Bible Society in Malta. 

The Jews being the managing men in almost every com- 
mercial affair, very little business is transacted on Saturday, 
owing to the strictness with which they observe their Sabbath. 
It is to be lamented, however, that, while extremely jealous of 
the traditions of their fathers, they pay but little regard to the 
weightier matters of the Law : this would seem to prove, with 
respect to them as well as others, that custom is stronger than 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 475 
any real feeling of responsibility ; and that the love of forms 
may exist, where there is a hatred of all moral or spiritual 
strictness. The Sabbath of Mahomedans is Friday: they 
observe it much less strictly than the Jews. The Christian 
Sabbath, it is painful to say, is almost entirely devoted to 
business or pleasure : the Consuls of the various Christian 
Nations do not, I believe, grant clearances to vessels, or 
transact other official business ; but, with these exceptions, 
the injunction to keep the day holy is, by most professing 
Christians, but little regarded. 

Sunday, Nov. 7 — Early in the morning, I attended the 
Service of the Greek Church. It lasted about an hour-and- 
a-quarter ; being longer than usual, in consequence of an ad- 
ditional Service for St. Demetrius. There was no Sermon. 
The Host, or consecrated bread, was brought out by the 
Papas, toward the close of the Service, into the middle of 
the Church : the Congregation immediately bowed ; and held 
themselves in a stooping posture for about a minute. At the 
time of the exhibition of the Host, about sixty were present ; 
from which circumstance I should judge, that, as with the 
Roman Catholics, this is principally considered as the essen- 
tial and obligatory part of their public devotions. If the 
whole Service, or even the Epistle and Gospel, were in a 
language intelligible to the people, it perhaps would not be 
the case that more would attend at the close than at the com- 
mencement ; but, being in Ancient Greek, few understand 
it. A considerable part of the Service was chaunted and 
read by lay-assistants, and by two or three of the child- 
ren whom I had seen in the School. The females were in 
a gallery, concealed from view by a wooden frame of trellis- 
work. I gave some Tracts to an individual who collected 
the offerings of the Congregation, and left a few more with 
the Papas. 

That a spirit of indifference to the sacred obligations of the 
Sabbath should prevail among Protestant Christians who 
have long been deprived of the public ordinances of religion, 
will not be surprising to those who have been placed in similar 



470 



APPENDIX. 



circumstances, even for a short time. The outward Means 
of Grace should be greatly prized, wherever they are en- 
joyed ) for a due regard to them will be found to be one of 
the surest safeguards of religion, whether individual or na- 
tional. It may be hoped, with respect to Churches at pre- 
sent unenlightened by the Scriptures, that, as the Bible shall 
be more generally read and studied, their errors in doctrine 
will be removed ; and Ministers raised up among them, who 
shall be as desirous of promoting the interests of true piety, 
as they now are of providing for attention to mere outward 
ceremonies. 

Monday, Nov. 8, 1824 — Saw the Greek Priest by appoint- 
ment, and gave him a note of the languages in which I have 
the Scriptures. He promised to send me a trust-worthy man 
to be employed in the sale of them. 

Called on Mr. Tulin, and gave him a copy of the Gospel of 
St. John in Maltese, and of the " Cries of Africa," a Tract on 
the horrors of the Slave Trade. We had some conversation 
on this subject. It is well known, that, in the last Treaty 
made between the British and Tunisine Governments, it is 
again stipulated, that the Bey shall make no more Christian 
Slaves. This Treaty, it will be remembered, was entered 
into in consequence of the detention, as Slaves, of about 80 
Greeks, part of whom had been brought to Tunis under the 
British Flag. If any more should come under the power of 
the Bey, they are to be considered as prisoners-of-war ; and, 
consequently, exchangeable on the termination of the present 
hostilities between the Turks and Greeks. 

Employed a Greek recommended by Seignior Caravella, 
the Greek Priest, to sell the Scriptures for me. He was for- 
merly a merchant, but is now reduced to the necessity of 
selling tobacco at the gate of the town. A poor Italian Boy 
also, having been recommended to me for the sale of Tracts, 
I have let him have a number for that purpose. 

Tuesday, Nov. 9 — Arabic Lessons, the principal part of the 
day. The boy employed to sell Tracts has disposed of 
twenty, and has brought me three piastres for them. They 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 



477 



have, he tells me, been chiefly bought for Children. The 
" Dairyman's Daughter" and the " Life of William Kelly" 
are most liked. 

Thursday, Nov. 11 — A Maltese called, to inquire the price 
of an Italian Bible : I gave him some Tracts. There may 
be about twenty Maltese in Tunis ; of whom one or two are 
shopkeepers, and the remainder chiefly such as have left the 
island from necessity. 

A Neapolitan Canonico, who had bought an Italian Bible, 
also came to see me. There is another Priest, with about 
forty Laymen, in the same situation as himself ; exiled from 
their country, on account of their political principles. They 
are Carbonari ; and receive, it is said, an allowance of ten 
ducats a month from the Neapolitan Government. He talks, 
as do many others, like one, who, having no real feeling of 
the value of the Bible, seems to attribute the desire to pro- 
mote its distribution to no higher motive than political inno- 
vation. I endeavoured to impress upon his mind the great 
benefit, which the diligent reading of the Word of God is 
calculated to produce on every class of the community. He 
promised to recommend the purchase of it to his countrymen. 

Dined with the Danish Consul. The Vice-Consul stated 
it as his opinion, that the population of Tunis amounts to 
150,000 souls. He thinks 300 to be about the number of 
Slaves annually imported. He states — " They are very ill- 
treated on the journey from the interior. The laws of Eu- 
ropean Nations respecting them are sometimes evaded. All 
Black Slaves are made Mahomedans ; and many think it is 
better for them, because Mahomedans, by their law, are 
obliged to treat them well : if the Master eats white bread, 
he must give the same to his Slave : Slaves, if dissatisfied 
with their Masters, can require to be resold. There is no 
depending upon a Moor for correct information on these sub- 
jects: they purposely deceive. The Jews can never obtain 
redress, but by paying money : if deprived of any privileges, 
the strongest arguments are of no avail : they can recover 
them, only by paying. 



178 APPENDIX. 

Saturday, Nov. 13, \S2i — Occupied in Arabic Lessons. 
Spent the evening at the house of the Swedish Consul, and 
had some conversation with a Lady who has long been resi- 
dent here; particularly relative to the want of Public Worship, 
which she much regretted ; stating that the Sabbath is, in 
fact, now quite a day of business. We enumerated, in Tunis, 
twenty-five Protestant Christians. I suggested the plan of 
their meeting at the house of some one of them, for united 
prayer and to hear a Sermon ; but no decisive answer was 
given. One present said, that if there were a Clergyman, it 
might be done. 

Monday, Nov. 15 — Took my first lesson in Arabic, from a 
Master whom I have engaged. He is a Jew. His name is 
Mordecai Naggiar. He resided, for some years, in Paris ; 
and is acquainted with Baron de Sacy, Professor KiefFer, 
and other Oriental Scholars. 

Tuesday, Nov. 16 — Visited the Slave Market. About 
twenty females, from fifteen to thirty years of age, were sitting 
on one side of the Market and round the raised platform in 
the centre: two of them had infants. I could with difficulty 
overcome my feelings, on seeing these poor creatures succes- 
sively taken by the hand and led about the Market by two 
hard-looking men, w T ho acted as auctioneers, calling out con- 
tinually the last price offered. They were occasionally 
stopped, both by men and women ; and made to shew their 
arms, tongues, and teeth : but there seemed to be few pur- 
chasers ; and none were sold during the half-hour that I re- 
mained. Some were thoughtless ; others appeared dejected. 
I asked two or three of them, through a Maltese Gentleman 
who accompanied me, from whence they had been brought ; 
but they did not understand him. Speaking to a Moor, who 
understood a little Italian, of the cruelty of the traffic, he 
replied that it was the custom of the country; adding, 
" These, unless they are sold, will not work ; but, being sold, 
we compel them." Putting the question to him whether about 
300 might be the number annually sold, he signified by his 
manner that I was much below the mark : he probably, how- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 479 
ever, included such as, from time to time, change Masters ; 
for, in the course of our conversation, speaking of one of the 
two who had infants, he said that she had been several years 
in Tunis. Being suddenly called away, I was prevented 
from making further inquiries. 

Conversing on the subject, on my return to the Inn, with 
Mordecai Naggiar, he assured me that the condition of the 
Jews is worse than that of the Slaves. They are, in general, 
very ignorant and superstitious; and their Rabbies very 
tyrannical — exercising a species of Inquisition over them. 
Not one in three hundred would receive the New Testament: 
he gave a copy to one individual ; and, since reading it, he 
states that he has discontinued the use of the Jewish Prayers, 
which are so many vain repetitions, and confines himself to 
the use of the Lord's Prayer. He further informed me, that 
he is making a collection of passages from the Old Testa- 
ment, which have reference to the Messiah ; and finds that 
they are very numerous — in fact, that their Scriptures are 
full of them : he quoted, particularly, parts of the Prophecy 
of Isaiah. Speaking of our Saviour, he said that the great 
objection of the Jews is, that He called Himself the Son of 
God. He states that he answers their difficulties by passages 
of Scripture, in which men are called Gods and Sons of God : 
such as, I have said, Ye are Gods (Ps. lxxxii. 6.) ; and, There 
was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves be- 
fore the Lord (Job i. 6.) It is plain, however, that his way of 
reasoning with his brethren is not by him intended to reach 
so high a standard, as the argument of our Lord Himself in 
John x. 34. 

The remainder of my conversation with him was on the 
necessity of a Mediator, the nature of true conversion, and 
the necessity of the Divinity of Christ in order to the validity 
of His atonement. He told me before leaving, that he was 
hated by the Jews on account of the liberality of his senti- 
ments ; but that, being employed by the Government as a 
Translator, and known as a friend of the Prime Minister of 
the Bey, the Rabbies had not the same power over him as 
over the generality. 



180 



APPENDIX. 



The Jews have a separate tribunal, for the settlement of 
differences among themselves ; for which privilege they pay 
a considerable sum. When any thing is required of them by 
the Government, the person employed by them as their Judge 
and Representative is sent for, and answers for the whole 
body. 

Thursday, Nov. 18, 1824 — Mordecai Naggiar accompanied 
me to a Jewish Elementary-School : it was held in a misera- 
ble Synagogue ; and consisted of about fifty boys, from six to 
ten years of age. The Masters were two poor Rabbies : one 
was teaching the Hebrew Characters : the elder children, 
under the direction of the other, were chaunting out of the 
Pentateuch and Prophets. Such as were unoccupied, were 
very unruly. After receiving the elementary instruction, the 
higher classes are introduced to the Talmud. There is a 
manuscript copy of the Pentateuch, on parchment, in the Syn- 
agogue ; which I was told is brought out, and two or three 
chapters read from it, every Saturday. A Jewess, who came 
in, asked if I was going to do as the Maltese had done ; al- 
luding to one, who, a few days before, had turned Jew, in 
order to marry a Jewess. On my expressing a wish that 
they were all Christians, she replied that she should then go 
to hell, for she should have to bow down to a log of wood. 
My interpreter, Mordecai, immediately answered, that I was 
not one of that description. 

Friday, Nov. 19 — Took an Arabic Lesson, and translated 
Watts's First Catechism into Italian. 

My Greek has found a ready sale for a number of Tracts, 
in Greek and Italian ; with which, at his request, I had sup- 
plied him. 

In the evening called on the American Consul : he estimated 
the number of Christians, of all denominations, in Tunis, at 
about a thousand ; including a good many employed in 
various capacities about the person of the Bey. 

Monday, Nov. 22 — Having proceeded with the Arabic 
Spelling-book according to the plan laid down, as far as 
words of four and more syllables, I to-day commenced copy- 
ing a selection of Sentences from the Proverbs. Gave also 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 481 

Watts's First Catechism to Mordecai Naggiar, to turn into 
Arabic. 

He acquaints me that he compiled for the Dutch Govern- 
ment, and forwarded to the Royal Institution at Amsterdam, 
a Grammar and Vocabulary of the language of the zenati; 
tribes of Mountaineers, which Dr. Shaw places about 130 
miles to the north-west of Tunis, near the Island of Tabarca. 
The work occupied him ten months. The way in which he 
executed it was this: a native of the country came, and re- 
mained with him a great part of the day ; but, as the man had 
no idea of Grammar, he was obliged to make out the parts 
of speech, declensions of nouns, &c, and the construction of 
sentences, by three or four examples from the Arabic. He 
has used the Arabic Characters. A copy of the work is de- 
posited in the Chancery of the Dutch Consulate. The com- 
piler was not permitted to retain one for himself. 

The same individual informs me, that the show! ah is an- 
other dialect of North Africa, spoken by tribes further to the 
west*. It resembles the language of the Zenati. He is 

* Concerning the Showiah Dialect, the following may be added 
from Shaw : — " The Kabyles, from their situation and language, 
(for all the rest of the Country speak the Arabic Tongue) seem to 
be the only people of these kingdoms who can bear any near rela- 
tion to the ancient Africans. For, notwithstanding the great variety 
of conquests to which the low and cultivated parts of this country 
have been so often subject, yet it is more than probable, that all or 
the greater part of the mountainous districts were, from their rugged 
situation, in a great measure left free and unmolested. Whilst the 
Nomader, therefore, and inhabitants of such cities and villages as 
were of easy access, submitted by degrees to the loss of their old 
language, and to the introduction of such new laws and customs as 
were consequent upon these invasions ; those Africans, who retired 
to the mountains, and there formed themselves into Kabyleah 
((JoUi') or Clans, may be supposed to have been the least affected 
with these novelties. It may be further urged, that, as they would 
be hereby obliged to converse chiefly among themselves, so, for the 
same reason, they would continue to be much the same people ; 
and, in all probability, preserve their original language, without any 
considerable alteration. But what this was, he must be a very bold 
conjecturer, who can, at this distance of time, pretend to ascertain. 

i i For 



482 APPENDIX. 

desirous of undertaking a similar work to that above mentioned 
in this language, and another in that ofBORNOU. Neither of 
these dialects has, as yet, been reduced toavvritten standard. 
Short Vocabularies exist of them, in the works of various 
Travellers ; but no books have been written in them. I recom- 
mended him to begin immediately. He has some idea of doing 
so on his own account, if he should not be employed by the 
Royal Institution of Amsterdam ; to which, he says, he has 
written relative to these undertakings. Understanding from him 
that the Institution above referred to had made inquiries re- 
lative to the Maltese, I gave him a copy of the Gospel of St. 
J ohn in that language. 

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1824 — Received a case of Scriptures 
which had been deposited at the Custom-House. It had 
been opened, and the contents examined. After being asked 
by the Collector of the Customs from what country I came, 
and whether the case contained any thing besides books, it was 
delivered to me free of all expense, except a trifling charge 
for warehouse-rent and porterage. While the books were 
counting, a well-dressed man, who spoke very good Italian, 
and I presume was either a Renegado or Christian in the 
habit of a Turk, informed me that the Collector wished to 
have an Italian and an Arabic Bible. On presenting him 



For, indeed, it is scarce conceivable, but that the Carthaginians, who 
possessed all Africa from Cyrene to the Atlantic Ocean, must, in 
consequence of their many conquests and colonies, have, in some 
measure, introduced their own language, of which we have a spe- 
cimen in the Psenulus of Plautus. And a still greater change it must 
probably have suffered, from the successive admission of Romans 
and Vandals into these countries. Thus much, however, is certain, 
that there is no affinity at all betwixt what may be supposed to be 
the primitive words in the Showiah (as they call this language at 
present) and the words which convey the same meaning in the 
Hebrew and Arabic Tongues. For Thamurt, Arghaz, Thamtuth, 
Agarum, Aksum, &c. (their names for Earth, a Man, a Woman, 
Bread, Flesh, &c.) cannot, I presume, be any way related to the 
Oriental Languages. But the Reader is referred to a Vocabulary 
of this Language, which is inserted after the Excerpta." (Shaw's 
Travels, pp. 288, 2S9.) The specimen which he afterward gives of 
the Showiah Language consists of about a hundred and twenty words. 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 483 
with a copy of each, he simply stated that he was much 
obliged to me. Some of the bye-standers, of whom there were 
many, said, that if the books were to be given, they were all 
ready to receive : I told them that if any should wish to pur- 
chase, they would find me at the Imperial Inn. The indi- 
vidual who first spoke to me having again alluded to the 
Arabic Bibles, I said that they were much sought after in 
Syria ; " and," he added, " in Egypt, by the Copts : " from 
which I infer, that the report of the sale of the Scriptures in 
Egypt has reached also this country. I said that it was the 
duty of all to read the Word of God ; to which he assented. 
To two Moors who said they could read, I gave copies of the 
Arabic Book of Genesis : one began immediately to read 
aloud. 

The Collector of the Customs, Seignior Gelluli,is reputed to 
be very rich, and has consequently a good deal of influence. 
His sons, I am told, farm some of the principal situations. 

One of the exiled Neapolitan Canons, who resides in the 
same inn with me, coming into my room, I presented him with 
some Tracts. He expressed his entire approbation of the 
object of the Bible Society, which I had explained to him. 
Having shewed him the Italian Bible, and alluded to the op- 
position of the Roman-Catholic Clergy, in many parts, to the 
reading of the Scriptures, he said that perhaps there would 
not have been so much if they had been printed in Rome 
instead of London ; adding, jocosely, " But, as England does 
not acknowledge the Pope, who knows but there may be 
some poison in these books ?" — meaning, probably, in the 
English Editions. He stated the number of Franks in Tunis 
to be about 1200 ; besides a good many Italians, who are not 
permanent residents. With reference to Roman Catholics, 
of which Communion this number is chiefly composed, he said, 
that it must be confessed, that the greater part here could 
scarcely be called Christians, or of any religion whatever. 

A few further observations, on my part, were relative to 
the state of Italy, divided between the Superstitious and the 
Infidels ; and the advantages of female education. Men- 
tioning to him what was doing in Malta, in this respect, he 

i i 2 



48 4 APPENDIX. 

regretted the suppression of the Normal Schools in Italy. 
He observed, on another occasion, that, without toleration, he 
could see no hope of doing good to the Mahomedans. 

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1 S24^-Called on the English Vice- 
Consul, chiefly to make inquiries relative to reports of the 
plague. An old Italian Renegado, one of the medical atten- 
dants of the Bey, whom I met at the British Consulate, as- 
sured Mr. Tulin that there was no cause whatever for alarm ; 
the rumours which were abroad being entirely without foun- 
dation. These assurances, however, are not considered so 
perfectly satisfactory as to remove all apprehension from the 
minds of the Europeans; for most of the medical men would 
probably be afraid to speak of any suspicious cases which 
might come under their knowledge. It is an undoubted fact, 
that, at the commencement of the Plague of 1820, its exist- 
ence was denied by the Government, till the inhabitants 
were dying so numerously that it could no longer be con- 
cealed. 

Thursday, Nov. 25 — Mordecai Naggiar informed me, that 
it is difficult to procure any Arabic Manuscripts : they 
chiefly consist of Books of Mahomedan Devotion. The 
public venders of them will not allow them to be touched by 
Jews or Christians, because they contain the name of their 
Prophet : in consequence, they can only be purchased pri- 
vately, through a Mahomedan. I was shewn a volume con- 
taining about 6000 Proverbs in the Western Character, and 
a Book of Fables : of the Fables I was informed that there is 
a copy in Paris : the price asked for the Proverbs was 500 
piastres. Mordecai told me that the Royal Institution of 
Amsterdam had also made inquiries of him relative to Manu- 
scripts, and that he was expecting an order for the volume of 
Proverbs above mentioned. 

Gave ten copies of the Arabic Genesis, and two Arabic 
Testaments, to G. di Pasquale, for distribution, among about 
300 Pilgrims, proceeding to Mecca by way of Alexandria, 
and now on board a brig lying at the Goletta. If they do 
not meet with a vessel for Alexandria, they sometimes per- 
form the whole distance by land. For a passage to Alex- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 485 
dria, they usually pay about six dollars each. They prefer 
the Spring to any other season of the year, for setting out 
on their pilgrimage. 

VISIT TO THE RUINS OF CARTHAGE. 

Tuesday, Nov. SO — Visited the Ruins of Carthage, in com- 
pany with the Danish and American Consuls. They are 
about ten miles distant from Tunis. The heavy rains, which 
are generally expected at an earlier period than this, not 
having as yet set in, the road, which from the lowness of the 
ground and lightness of the soil would have otherwise been 
almost impassable, was perfectly dry. On one side, are the 
remains of the celebrated Aqueduct, by which Carthage was 
supplied with water from a mountain called Zowan, about 
thirty miles distant from Tunis : they consist of mere masses 
of stone and cement, thrown down, and lying at the distance 
of a few yards from one another. 

We proceeded to the inconsiderable village of Malga ; con- 
taining, as I was informed, about fifty inhabitants : and, from 
thence, to what are denominated the Smaller Cisterns : they 
are in an excellent state of preservation, and might be com- 
pletely repaired at a trifling expense. The Larger Cisterns, 
or those which received the water from the Aqueduct, are on 
lower ground, at a short distance from the others : they are 
at present used by the Bedoween Arabs for habitations, and 
appeared to be in a much less perfect condition. 

Besides what I have mentioned, the observer is struck with 
the view of fragments of mosaic pavements, chips of marble, 
and shreds of earthen vessels, which lie scattered in every 
direction. Doubtless many valuable remains of Antiquity are 
buried under the soil ; but researches of this kind are not 
only very expensive, but are also of too absorbing a nature 
for those whose business is with the living. 

Wednesday, Dec. 1 — Slept last night at El Marsa, at the 
house of the Danish Consul ; and walked with him, this 
morning, to Sidi Buseid, a village on the most-elevated part 
of Cape Carthage, and at about an hour's distance from the 
ruins. From the remains of an old castle, called the Tower 
of St. Louis, we had a fine view of the surrounding country, 



486 APPENDIX. 

the Roads and Lake of Tunis, Porto Farina, the Island of 
Zimbra, and Cape Bon. I had taken with me a few copies 
of the Arabic Genesis; but the inhabitants being represented 
as extremely superstitious, I was recommended not to attempt 
the distribution of them : a well-dressed Moor, however, 
having saluted us and answered a few questions, I presented 
him with a copy. He received it thankfully, and began to 
read in the presence of others. I was informed, that, some 
years ago, Christians were not permitted to enter this village, 
on account of its reputed sanctity. An old man, who passed 
for a distinguished saint, was sitting by the side of the road : 
he was, at least, clean ; and there was something respectable in 
hisappearence: the Dragoman, or Janissary, who accompanied 
us, sat down by him, either at his request or command, for they 
have some of them a good deal of authority ; and was, afterward, 
conducted by him, seemingly against his will, to visit the tomb 
of the Saint after whom the village is called. A few coins, as 
is generally the case on the appearance of strangers, were 
brought out by the inhabitants ; none, however, but such as 
may be purchased in Tunis without difficulty. In returning 
home, we met two individuals on their way to the village, each 
of them having a wax-candle, which I was told was for an 
offering to the Saint. 

FURTHER PROCEEDINGS AT TUNIS. 

A shocking instance of cruelty occurred yesterday, which 
will give an idea of Judicial Proceedings in Barbary. The 
two victims of it were a young Jew and a Moorish Woman. 
It was stated that they had been taken in adultery ; but all 
the circumstances were so improbable as to leave no doubt 
on the minds of most persons of the innocence of the parties. 
The crime was affirmed to have been committed about four 
days ago, and the individuals were immediately taken to 
prison. The Young Man was carried before the Bey yester- 
day morning ; and some witnesses came forward, and gave 
evidence of the fact : the poor Jew, seeing that his death 
was determined on, as a last resource repeated the Maho- 
medan Profession of Faith, by which he became a Turk : he 
was told, however, that it was too late, as he had been in- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 487 
duced to take the step through fear : this measure failing, he 
boldly asserted his innocence ; telling the Bey, that he was 
his superior now, but that before God they should be equal, 
and that he should then ask an account of his blood : the Bey 
shook his clothes, and said that it would lie at the door of the 
witnesses : from the palace he was immediately conducted to 
the place of execution, and cut down: I was told that his 
sufferings were not protracted ; one of the executioners 
having almost immediately struck off his head : his mangled 
body was afterwards dragged about the town by the infu- 
riated mob, and treated with every possible indignity : he has 
left a wife and two young children, who, by the seizure and 
confiscation of the little property that he possessed, now 
depend for subsistence on the small allowance which they may 
receive from the general poor-fund of the J ews. The Moorish 
Woman was a very bad and troublesome character : she was 
punished, according to the Mahomedan custom, by being put 
into a sack and drowned. 

I much regret having been absent during this transaction ; 
for I cannot help thinking that a little exertion might have 
procured for the unfortunate individual, at least a regular 
trial according to Mahomedan Law. By that Law, so many 
qualifications in a witness are required, that the lives of the 
parties would probably have been saved : at all events, time 
would have been gained, which might have led to the deve- 
lopement of many circumstances. It was generally thought, 
that revenge, for legal proceedings to which the Jew had had 
recourse against a Moor for the recovery of a debt, was at 
the bottom of the whole affair. In consequence of a some- 
what similar case, which happened about a year-and-a-half 
ago, I was told that it was made an article in the last Treaty 
with the British Government, that a Christian shall not be put 
to death within less than forty-eight hours from the time of 
conviction, and that the trial shall be conducted in the pre- 
sence of the Consul of his Nation. But the Jews, unhappily, 
have no Nation — no Consul. 

Thursday, Dec, 2. 1824 — Mordecai Naggiar informed me 



488 APPENDIX. 

that Mahomedans have an idea that they acquire merit in 
heaven by taking the life of a Jew ; and that, to succeed in 
this, they would sacrifice the lives of ten women. These ob- 
servations were made with particular reference to the late oc- 
currence ; and, no doubt, under the influence of passionate in- 
dignation : yet they probably describe, not too strongly, the 
fanaticism which prevails among the Mussulman Populace. 

Friday, Dec. 3, 1824 — Mordecai Naggiar asked permis- 
sion to introduce to me a Moorish Merchant, his friend ; and 
called with him, almost immediately afterward. I gave him 
an Arabic Bible, which he promised to read through. He ob- 
jected to the words, in the Lord's Prayer, which art in 
heaven-, observing that God was everywhere. He highly 
approved of the Ten Commandments. Speaking of the 
Koran, he expressed by his manner great admiration, and 
said that it was a compendium of every thing. I said but 
little, except recommending him to read the Scriptures ; 
chiefly because I felt doubtful whether my interpreter, being 
a Jew, would venture to interpret the remarks which I should 
probably make. 

The Divinity of our Saviour is as great a stumbling-block 
with Mahomedans as with Jews. The Mahomedans do not 
believe Him to have been crucified. They appear also to 
object to all passages of Scripture which represent the Deity 
in terms expressive of locality or of human attributes. 

My Greek called to settle for several copies of the Scrip- 
tures which he had sold. He informed me that one of his 
countrymen was bastinadoed yesterday, because a pair of 
shoes which he had made did not fit the purchaser. He 
stated also, that all the Greeks who had embraced Mahome- 
danism were at Bardo, the palace of the Bey ; and that three 
of the women still remained Christians. 

Saturday, Dec. 4 — Arabic Lessons part of the day. In 
the afternoon, I took a ride into the country. My compa- 
nion stated that he had seen the Greek Boys at Bardo very 
superbly dressed : it is in this way that the poor children 
are enticed into the renunciation of Christianity. He repre- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 489 
sented the condition of the Slaves as better than that of 
many Moors ; because it is the interest of their Masters to 
take care of them* The right which they possess of demand- 
ing to be re-sold, is also adduced as an additional proof of 
their being well off : this may, indeed, operate favourably in 
some instances ; but it must be recollected, that the proprie- 
tor enjoys, on his part likewise, the privilege of selling his 
Slave, if discontented with him. If, therefore, we consider 
the case of Slaves, and particularly of females, their remem- 
brance of past hardships, the possibility of their suffering 
worse treatment, and, above all, the dread of being again 
carried they know not whither, it may justly be doubted 
whether the power w r hich the Master possesses of transferring 
them, would not operate as a strong inducement to endure a 
very high degree of present suffering, rather than hazard (it 
might be) a still greater. 

Speaking of the produce of the country, while riding 
through the olive-grounds, my companion informed me that 
oil, in the district of Tunis, can only be sold to the Bey, and 
that he fixes his own price. There is also an impost of ten 
per cent. ; which is said to be levied, not on the actual crop 
or produce, but on what the land is judged capable of pro- 
ducing, so that it sometimes amounts to more than a tithe. He 
further stated, that a caravan, which is expected to bring nearly 
800 Slaves, would probably B arrive about the month of January. 

Monday, Bee. 6 — Called on the Padre Prefetto, the 
Superior of the Roman- Catholic Church here, and requested 
his acceptance of an Italian Bible. He said that he had 
already provided himself with a copy, but that he could give 
it to his companion in the Mission. 

The Superior is an aged Capuchin Friar, and has been 
twenty years in Tunis : his companion is also a Capuchin, 
and is about thirty years of age. The latter had lately 
returned from Susa ; from which place he had been sent for, 
to marry a couple and baptize a child. They are not in the 
habit of visiting other places, unless they are sent for ; and 
their expenses are then paid by the parties requiring their 



490 APPENDIX. 

attendance. The Superior stated that the number of 
Roman-Catholics in Tunis does not exceed 800, including 
those at the Palace. He declared his approbation of the 
distribution of the Scriptures. I observed, that, in these 
countries, Christians have but few religious advantages ; and 
alluded, as evidence of the importance of Religious Instruc- 
tion, to the case of three young women, who, a few days 
previously, had turned Mahomedans. I added, that they 
could only have had the name of Christians ; but that if they 
had been well instructed in the Scriptures, they would have 
been able, when conversed with, to have shewn the grounds 
of their belief, and that their arguments might possibly have 
made an impression on the minds of even Moors themselves. 
He said that they had been educated more like Turks than 
Christians, and that they could scarcely speak Italian. Fol- 
lowing up the subject, I stated that I thought a Christian 
might say to a Turk — " God cannot have two Laws : either 
Christ, therefore, or Mahomet must be false. You believe 
Christ to have been a true Prophet, and respect Moses, the 
Patriarchs, &c. : let us examine, therefore, what they have 
said." He replied, " Yes, the true religion must be one." — 
" There may," I said, " be differences in matters of disci- 
pline." He answered, " Yes, according to circumstances ; 
but Dogma must be one." — " There may be a diversity of 
opinion," I replied, " among Christians, on minor points ; 
but the essential doctrines must be held by all. These doc- 
trines," I continued, " are contained in the Holy Scriptures ; 
and, when they are read, we may hope that the blessing of 
God will accompany the perusal. As a member of the' 
Church of England, we differ, as you know, in some points ; 
but we both believe the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of 
God ; and should, therefore, do all in our power to promote 
their circulation in all languages." 

On the subject of Schools, he said that there were two or 
three small ones kept by individuals, but nothing like general 
education. He added, "A few females know enough of 
reading to be able to learn the Catechism, but little more." 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 491 
I urged him to assemble as many children as possible, and 
to read with them the Scriptures. He replied, that this could 
be done without difficulty. 

The Superior further informed me, that there is a Chapel 
at the Bey's Palace, where Mass is said for the Catholics ; 
and that their Mission is under French Protection, the Ospi- 
zio, or Convent, being mentioned in the Treaty between the 
two Governments. The other Friar added, that they are 
sent to the Christians, not to Mahomedans ; and that if they 
were to speak to Mahomedans on the subject of religion, they 
might be denounced for having blasphemed Mahomet, and 
lose the protection which their habit affords them. I referred 
them to the command, Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
Gospel to every creature. The Superior stated, that there 
certainly were cases, in which it was the duty of a Minister to 
expose his life. I concluded by observing, that God only 
can convert the heart ; and that true Christianity does not 
consist in mere outward profession, but in true faith in Jesus 
Christ, manifesting itself in obedience to H ; s commandments. 

I had determined to call on the poor Jewess, whose hus- 
band was put to death a few days ago ; and also to endeavour 
to interest some of the Consuls in her favour : bui my Arabic 
Master, himself a Jew, told me that it would be better not to 
do so, as it might excite a suspicion that the Jews were seeking 
the protection of a Christian Nation, and so be worse both 
for the family and the Jews in general. 

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1824 — The Greek Papas called upon me. 
I requested him to furnish me with a list of Greeks who 
can read, and have it not in their power to pay for copies of 
the Scriptures. Having stated to him that I had heard that 
three of the Greek women, who had been brought to Tunis as 
Slaves, had not renounced Christianity, he promised to ascer- 
tain if these also could read, and to endeavour to see them as 
often as possible. 

I inquired of Mordecai Naggiar, for what consideration he 
would undertake the compilation of a Grammar and Vocabu- 
lary of the Showiah Language : he replied that he would 



492 APPLNDIX. 

rather wait till lie should receive answers to Letters which he 
had written to Holland. 

Wednesday, Dec, 8, 1824 — Employed upon Arabic, part of 
the day. Much time was passed to-day, with persons who 
called to look at the Scriptures. 

Thursday, Dec. 9 — Arabic Master ; and much time taken 
up, as yesterday, by persons who came either to purchase the 
Scriptures or to look at them from curiosity. The Moors, 
who could read, seemed to understand the Arabic Bible: 
they generally read with hesitation; partly on account of the 
smallness of the print, and partly from want of practice in the 
Meskerni or Eastern Character. They pointed out the large 
print in the title-page with great delight. 

Friday , Dec. 10 — A Jew, who had purchased a Hebrew 
Bible and Testament, returned them, in consequence of the 
reading of them having been prohibited by the Rabbies. 
Mordecai Naggiar informed me, that the reading of the New 
Testament had been prohibited under pain of excommunica- 
tion : he expressed, however, his belief, that it would be read 
privately. The objections which have been made to the Old 
Testament, it was reported to me, arose from the Latin Pre- 
face, the Latin Titles, and the giving of the Various Read- 
ings ; but, more particularly, from the use of the cross as a 
mark of reference. Many copies of an Edition which shall 
contain simply the Hebrew, I feel persuaded, might be 
sold. 

In the afternoon, Mordecai called upon me with an old 
Polish Jew ; who has been many years in Tunis. Under- 
standing that he was a Rabbi and a liberal-minded man, I 
gave him a Hebrew Testament; and endeavoured, by ex- 
planation, to convince him of the unreasonableness of the 
Rabbies, in having prohibited the use of the Hebrew Bible 
for the causes assigned; and added, that the Jews ought at 
least to study their own Scriptures, that the command of God 
was very explicit on the subject, and that the Rabbies who 
prevented them would incur a greater degree of punishment. 
He said that the Rabbies, themselves, knew more of the Tal- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 493 

mud, than of the Holy Scriptures. He read the Fifty-third 
Chapter of Isaiah: but made no reply. Speaking a very 
few words of Italian, he probably did not understand some 
remarks which I made relative to the institution of sacrifices, 
and the duty of Jews to hear what Christians have to say. 

Saturday, Dec. 11. — Arabic Spelling-book, a considerable 
part of the day. Mordecai Naggiar requested the loan of 
Erpenius, to copy from it the Fables of Lokmann for the 
Prime Minister of the Bey, 

A Jew, who had purchased thirty Hebrew Bibles for re- 
sale, called several times to request of me to take back the 
twelve copies which he had received and paid for, and to 
return him his money ; assuring me that he should be a loser 
of the whole amount, as the Rabbies had compelled him to 
restore the money to those to whom he had sold them. Va- 
rious considerations induced me to refuse his request ; the 
principal of which were — first, because, generally speaking, 
where money is concerned, their word is not entitled to much 
credit — secondly, because I felt it my duty not to encourage 
their implicit submission to their Rabbies — and, thirdly, be- 
cause I should not have been sure that any of the copies 
returned would have been perfect. After a good deal of en- 
treaty, however, I made him a small allowance. 

Monday, Dec. 13 — Mordecai Naggiar returned me Dr. 
Watts's First Catechism in Italian, not having translated it 
into Arabic as I had requested him to do. During the time 
that he remained with me to-day, he translated the headings 
of a Selection from the Four Gospels. This Selection com- 
pletes the Arabic Spelling-book, according to the proposed 
arrangement. 

Called on the Padre Prefetto of the Roman Catholics, for 
the purpose of having some further conversation with him. 
He stated that he should have no objection, publickly to re- 
commend the reading of the Holy Scriptures ; and agreed to 
purchase a number of copies for re-sale or gratuitous distri- 
bution. Speaking of the people under his superintendence, 
he said that many of them were poor ; and that they did not 
manifest a greater desire to possess the Scriptures, because 



494 APPENDIX. 

they were not absolutely necessary. I replied, that nothing 
could be of greater importance ; for, when the Scriptures are 
neglected, religion is likely to degenerate into mere outward 
ceremonies. 

With reference to the use of Images and Pictures, I ob- 
served, that we should examine whether some of the usages 
of the Church may not be a stumbling-block to Mahomedans. 
He justified the practice of having them; and said that Ca- 
tholics do not pray to them, but to the persons whom they 
represent. I remarked, that the Second Commandment ap- 
peared to me to be conclusive against the custom : that, he 
said, was given to the Jews, because they were a people very 
much given to idolatry : I replied, that Christ confirmed all 
the Commandments, not having come into the world to de- 
stroy the Law, but to fulfil it : he said, " Yes, to glorify it." 
I added, that man is, by nature, prone to idolatry ; and that 
God knows our hearts better than we do ourselves. As to 
the distinction between addressing the representation and the 
person represented, I stated, that, from what I had seen, I 
much doubted whether it was one which was made by the 
illiterate ; adding, that the bulk of mankind were of this class. 
He remarked, that the English Church was not opposed to 
the use of them : I replied, that a picture is sometimes to be 
found in an English Church, but it was placed there merely 
as an ornament. I added, that it was contrary to the prac- 
tice of the primitive times, as might be proved both from 
Ecclesiastical and Profane History : he answered, that Chris- 
tianity was then in its infancy, and that it became more perfect 
afterward : I replied, that the nearer we approach the Apo- 
stolic Age, the more pure we shall find Christianity. 

Introducing the subject of the Intercession of Saints and of 
the Virgin Mary, I stated, that the doctrine of their mediation 
and the practice of praying to them appeared to me to be 
contrary to Scripture ; and quoted the passages, There is 
one God; and one Mediator between God and man, the man 
Christ Jesus — and, God so loved the world, that he gave his only- 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish 
but have everlasting life, 1 added, that the Divinity of our 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 495 
Saviour was indispensably requisite to the acceptance of His 
atonement, and that they who deny the one put no trust in 
the other. In the last observation he fully agreed ; but said, 
with respect to the former, that the merits of the Saints were 
accepted for the sake of Christ, the great Mediator ; or words 
of similar import. I answered by quoting the words, When ye 
shall have done all those things ivhich are commanded you, say. 
We are unprofitable servants : we have done that which was our 
duty to do. He proceeded to speak of the different degrees 
of worship, Latria, Hyperdulia, and Dulia ; the first rendered 
to the Almighty, the second to the Virgin Mary, and the 
third to the Saints. 

Alluding to Miracles, the Prefetto said that they were a 
sign of the true Church, quoting the passage Mirabilis Deus 
in Sanctis suis, England, he said, had justly been called 
" la terra Angelica;" no country having produced so many 
Saints : since the Reformation, however, not one. Granting, 
he continued, that many of the miracles said to have been 
wrought were impositions, yet some surely were true. I re- 
plied, that many being false might lead us to doubt of others, 
particularly if brought forward in support of doctrines con- 
trary to Holy Scripture. He stated the senses of Scripture 
to be three ; namely, literal, allegorical, and paragogical; 
adding, litera occidit animam — the letter killeth the soul ; and 
said, that the true meaning had been given by the Fathers of 
the Church, in the Notes accompanying Authorised Ver- 
sions. 

Previously to leaving him, I made a few observations rela- 
tive to the nature of justifying faith, as revealed in the Scrip- 
tures and received by Protestants. Professing to agree with 
what I had stated, he said, " Yes— -fides sine operibus mortua 
est"— faith without works is dead: but not, I fear, in the Scrip- 
tural sense of the passage. 

Tuesday ; Dec. 1 4, 1824 — Wrote to the Committee of the Bi- 
ble Society in Malta, giving an account of Scriptures sold, and 
distributed gratuitously, up to the present period. They 
amount to 69 copies; of which 40 have been sold, and 29 given 
away. Since the prohibition of the Hebrew Bible, the lan- 



490 APPENDIX. 

guages in which they have been most inquired for have been 
Arabic, Greek, and Italian. 

Called on Mr. Tulin, and lent him the last Report of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society. 

It has been stated to me, on very good authority, that one 
of the witnesses against the poor Jew, mentioned on the 1st 
instant, being about to suffer for some crime of which he has 
since been convicted, has acknowledged that his evidence was 
false, and that he had received money for it from several in- 
dividuals. Some of these, it is said, have also been arrested. 

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1824 — I called on the Superior of the 
Roman Catholics, and sold him five Italian Bibles and ten Tes- 
taments. He lamented the liberty, or rather the licentious- 
ness, of the Press ; in consequence of which, indecent and 
blasphemous publications were to be found in the hands of 
so many. I replied, and he fully assented, that it was the 
duty of Christians to oppose to this evil the counteracting 
influence of the Holy Scriptures. 

Spent the evening at the house of the Swedish Consul ; 
and had a good deal of conversation on religious subjects 
with two ladies many years resident in Tunis. They had 
received a religious education. One of them stated, that the 
door of their father's house (he was British Consul) was 
closed to every one on the Sabbath. He experienced many 
difficulties, in consequence of his religious habits, and of his 
care to preserve his family from the evil of bad example. He 
had, at different times, two Clergymen ; but their conduct 
w T as not correct, and he was under the necessity of dismissing 
them : this was a great grief to him. He would not permit 
his children to learn the language of the country ; in order, 
no doubt, that their minds might be preserved untainted by 
the oaths and indecent expressions, to the hearing of which 
they might have been constantly exposed. 

Thursday, Dec. 1G — Mordecai Naggiar brought with him 
the old man whom he had employed to assist him in 
the compilation of the Zenati Language. He is a Zowawi ; 
and the mountains from which he comes are in the Kingdom 
of Algiers, about eleven days (as he said) distant from Tunis. 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 497 

He offered to accompany me/ if I would go ; but said that it 
would be requisite to change my dress. There are several 
tribes : " Some," he stated, " are not good Mussulmans." 
They have frequent wars among themselves : but all animosity 
ceases, when they are threatened by the Algerines ; by whom, 
he says, they have never yet been subjugated. He stated 
himself to be the only surviving one of several brothers, and 
that all the others had been killed in wars with the Algerines. 
They have no books in their language : when they have any 
thing to write, they go to some one who understands Arabic, 
and get him to write it for them. A good many, he said, 
speak a little Arabic ; particularly those who have business 
with the low country. I shewed him the Book of Genesis : 
but he read it with difficulty, partly on account of the small- 
ness of the print and partly because of its being in the Me- 
sherki or Eastern character ; probably also, in part, because 
Arabic was not his native tongue. He declined receiving it, 
because, he said, it be would be of no use to him. 

Friday, Dec. 17 — I discontinued taking lessons in Arabic, 
and paid Mordecai Naggiar for one month. 

Took account of the Scriptures on hand, and put up two 
cases for Susa and Sfax. 

Saturday, Dec.XS — In consequence of a great many 
piastres, the circulating medium of Tunis, having been from 
time to time sent out of the country, the Bey has come to 
the determination of debasing the coin. It is greatly believed, 
that this measure, added to stricter regulations to prevent 
the exportation of any kind of specie, will operate as a further 
embarrassment to trade, which is stated to be already in a 
very languishing condition. 

During my residence in this country, there have been, on 
an average, about nine vessels in the Roads and Canal, at 
one time. Allowing each of them a month, and supposing 
this to be the usual number and such to be the average 
length of their stay, which I have understood to be the case, 
the yearly total would be 108. The principal trade is with 
Marseilles, Genoa, and Leghorn. 

I gave a Spanish Testament to a poor carpenter, who lives 

K K 



498 APPENDIX. 

under my window. He lost all his property in a storm in the 
Bay of Tunis, about four years ago, when twenty merchant- 
vessels and a considerable part of the Bey's fleet perished, 
together with nearly 2000 seamen. When I asked him if he 
was poor, he lifted up his hands ; and, shewing them, said 
that he had nothing else to depend on. He regretted having 
lost, with his other property, a Spanish Testament, which had 
been given him at Mahon. He refused to take any thing for 
work which he had done for me at various times ; but requested 
another Spanish Testament, for a man with whom he worked. 
He observed, that if these books were generally distributed 
in his country, it would not be in its present condition. 

Monday, Dec. 20,1824 — Mordecai Naggiar brought me 
the last sheet of a Collection of Arabic Proverbs, extracted 
from a book in his possession, and in common use among the 
Natives of Barbary. The Selection consists of thirteen 
sheets full ; but it will require a careful revision, as some of 
them, however expressive or adapted to the state of this 
country, are inconsistent with common delicacy. 

The Jews are hiding their cooking utensils, to prevent their 
being taken by the Bey's people ; who, it is said, are going 
about to collect copper for the purpose of debasing the coin. 

I dined with Mr. Tulin, and afterward accompanied him 
and his family to the house of his brother, the Swedish Consul. 
A younger brother, who had a few days previously returned 
from Susa, informed me that the population of that town is 
estimated at about 20,000. In it there are three or four 
Christian Families. It is not considered perfectly safe, at 
present, to travel between Susa and Sfax : the danger arises 
from recent disturbances, which are not yet entirely sup- 
pressed. Oil and soap are the principal articles of export. 

Tuesday, Dec. 21 — Had some conversation relative to the 
trade of Tunis. During the last few years, there has been 
no direct intercourse with England. My companion shewed 
me samples of oil, and stated that it was capable of being 
made equal to any which is produced in Italy. The prejudice 
against this country which exists in England, is adduced as a 
reason that the trade has not been more cultivated. In con- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 499 
sequence of the bad policy of the Government, there is a 
great deal of uncultivated land. Referring to the subject of 
Slavery, he stated that the price of Slaves is now much 
reduced. Smyrna and Constantinople were formerly consi- 
derable markets ; but Masters of Vessels are now reluctant 
to become parties to this traffic, owing to the risk to which 
they would render themselves liable. 

VISIT TO BIZERTA. 

Wednesday, Dec. 22 — At day-light this morning, I set 
out for Bizerta, a town on the sea-coast, about 45 miles 
to the north-north-west of Tunis. It is the Hippo Zaritensis 
of the ancients*. There is a regular communication with this 
place from Tunis, two or three times a week. The caravans, 
however, are sometimes very small : that with which I tra- 
velled consisted of four animals, accompanied by two men. 

After passing through the olive- grounds in the neighbour- 
hood of Tunis, which extend in this direction to the distance 
of seven or eight miles, we entered on a very extensive and 
fertile plain ; and crossed the Megerda, after travelling for 
about six hours. The banks of this river are about sixty 
feet apart. The stream, (if stream it may be called, for its 
motion was scarcely perceptible when I crossed it,) is at pre- 
sent about thirty feet wide and two feet deep ; but it becomes 
rapid after heavy rains, and sometimes rises very suddenly. 
Near the spot where we crossed, there are the remains of an 
ancient bridge : it has been partly rebuilt ; and a sufficient 
number of hewn stones for its completion are now lying by 



* Bochart having given a very learned and satisfactory account of 
the derivation of the name Hippo Zaritensis, or Hippo Diarrhytus, 
(Vide Chanaan, Lib. I. Cap. 24. Col. 474, 475.) takes notice of the 
other Hippo, called Hippo Regius, which is more to the west, and was 
formerly the episcopal seat of St. Augustine. He a4ds, however — for 
which no sufficient authority is given — " Duorum Hipponum hodie 
Regius solus superest" The passage, which he quotes immediately 
after from Victor Uticensis, only alludes to Hippo Regius, as still 
existing ; but not to the exclusion of Hippo Zaritensis, which is 
Bizerta. 

K K 2 



500 APPENDIX. 

the side of the river. It was stated to me that they had been 
dug out of the ruins of Utica. The work has been disconti- 
nued for some time, and will probably never be resumed by 
the present Government. 

Continuing our route, after leaving the Megerda, through 
country more or less cultivated, we descended into the Plain 
of Utica. The ground is low ; and, in a great measure, 
overgrown with rushes. What are supposed to be the ruins 
of the ancient city are seen at the distance of about a mile- 
and-a-half from the road. There is a line of hills at the 
extremity of this plain, very rugged ; and, when you have 
ascended it, the country, for a considerable distance, assumes 
a less fertile aspect. I observed a few inconsiderable piles of 
ruins here and there. Leaving El Alia (a town situated on 
high ground, as the name of it denotes) at some distance on 
our right, we passed a small inhabited village about five miles 
from Bizerta. Here we arrived a little before sunset. Seignior 
G. Manucci, the English Vice-Consul of Bizerta, had called 
upon me in Tunis, and I was kindly received into the house 
of that gentleman. 

Bizerta is situated on the western side of a very narrow 
irregular channel, which communicates with the sea on the 
north, and on the south with an extensive Lake which reaches 
six or seven miles inland. We crossed the channel, from 
the eastern side, by a stone bridge 15 to 20 feet wide; on 
the right of which is a portion of the channel, which an- 
ciently formed a commodious harbour : it is now, however, 
too shallow to admit of the entrance of vessels. In conse- 
quence of the danger to which vessels are exposed while 
lying in the open roads on the north, it is but seldom that 
Masters of Ships can be induced to proceed to this Port 
during the winter season. The principal article of exporta- 
tion is corn. 

Like other Turkish towns, Bizerta has a neat appearance 
at a distance, but is in reality very mean and filthy. It is 
surrounded by a wall ; and is fortified toward the sea, by 
two or three castles. A chain, of considerable thickness, is 
thrown across the mouth of the channel. There are likewise 



VISIT TO TUNIS. <501 
still existing the remains of an ancient pier, which seems to 
have been carried out to some distance into the roads : about 
fifteen yards of it are still in a tolerable state of repair. 

Seignior Manucci informed me that the town contains about 
14,000 inhabitants. I should have formed a much lower 
estimate, judging from its dimensions. 

The Kiaya, it is said, pays 40,000 piastres a year for the 
situation. 

I found in Bizerta four Christian Families, consisting of 
about thirty individuals. The whole were unfurnished with 
the Holy Scriptures. The French and Sardinian Vice- 
Consuls purchased two copies of the Italian Bible and one 
Italian Testament : to Seignior Manucci, I gave an Italian 
Bible, and two Italian Testaments to his son and daughter. 
I gave also an Italian Testament to a labouring man, who 
could read a little, and had a numerous family. These Chris- 
tians have no School, nor any stated religious instruction. 
To some of the children who could read, I distributed a few 
Italian Tracts. 

The Jews are said to amount to 500 ; and were represented 
to me as being very poor. They have one Synagogue, and 
four Rabbies ; of whom one is considered as their Superior, 
two superintend the education of children, and the other con- 
ducts the Service of the Synagogue. I sent out a young 
man, a Jew, to announce that I had copies of the Scriptures 
to sell, with specimens : he brought them back, saying that 
both Jews and Mahomedans refused to purchase. 

I left with Seignior Manucci 25 copies in Arabic, French, 
Italian, and Hebrew, which he engaged to endeavour to dis- 
pose of. He also expressed an intention of reading the 
Italian Bible every evening with his own family. Agreeably 
to the persuasion of the Roman-Catholics, he expressed to 
me his conviction, with an air of much sincerity, that the 
souls of many Moorish Children are saved, by a practice 
which the Christian Women use when they hear of infants 
being sick : they pay the family a visit, and endeavour se- 
cretly to baptize the Children. 

It had been stated to me in Tunis, [that Bizerta was 



502 APPENDIX. 

annually visited by nearly 200 boats, chiefly Sardinian and 
Sicilian, employed during the summer months in the coral- 
fishery. Seignior Manucci, however, informed me, that the 
number has not of late exceeded 60 or 70. A portion of 
them now resort to the Island of Tabarca : with which island 
the Genoese have had very considerable connections ; inso- 
much, that, at Tunis, some of the Franks are commonly called 
Tabarchini *. 

RETURN TO TUNIS. 

Saturday, Dec. 25, 1824—1 left Bizerta a little before day- 
light, and arrived in Tunis at half-past-five in the evening. 
It rained hard, the greater part of the day ; and the wind 
being high, travelling was very unpleasant. A continuance 
of wet weather for several days would render many parts of 
the road almost impassable. Travellers would, in such case, 
take their route by El Alia, by which the Plain of Utica and 
other low ground are avoided. 

Monday, Dec. 27 —The Sheriffe D'Ghis, to whom I 
had been introduced in Malta, called upon me, in company 
with a Moorish Gentleman. He is living at the village of 
Sidi Buseid, and regretted that he did not know that I had 
been there. He said that he would willingly take me to the 
College in Tunis, called Gumah el Zeitun, were it not that 
he should not like to expose me to affront, which might pro- 
bably be the case. He stated that the common people were 
very fanatical, and recommended me not to attempt to give 
them books : the higher classes he considered to be more 
liberal. Having inquired of me if I had purchased any 



* In reference to the Island of Tabarca, Shaw speaks in the fol- 
lowing - manner: — " The river Zaine, with the ancient Thabraca situated 
upon the western banks of it, hath been already described. The small 
island, which lieth over against it, is at present in the possession of the 
Genoese, who pay an annual rent for it to this Regency : bat the little 
advantage that hath lately been made of the Coral Fishery (the chief 
reason of their settlement,) will possibly oblige them to abandon it in 
a short time. They have here a tolerably good Fort, very capable to 
protect them, as well against any surprise from the Zenati and other 
Arabs of the neighbouring Continent, as from the insults of the 
Cruising Vessels of Algiers and Tripoli." (Shaw's Travels, p. 142.) 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 508 
Manuscripts, I replied that I found it difficult to procure any. 
He said that they might be purchased through the Dragoman 
of a Consul. I placed at his disposal five copies of the 
Arabic Genesis, for distribution at Sicli Buseid ; and gave a 
copy to the Moor who accompanied him. He desired to 
have an Arabic Bible to shew to a friend, and said that he 
would return it almost immediately. I requested him, how- 
ever, to retain it, for the purpose of lending as he might find 
opportunities. 

I have been informed that one of the young females who 
lately renounced Christianity has been married to a Son of 
the Bey, and that the two others also are expecting to be 
married to high connections at Court. 

Tuesday, Dec. £8 — I visited the Slave Market. There 
were exhibited, as before, about twenty females. It struck 
me as not unlikely, that, of the Slaves brought to Tunis, 
some may be Abyssinians. Several of the young women whom 
I have seen here were of the same complexion as a native 
of that country whom I recollect to have met with in Malta. 
Bornou, Bergoo, and Baghermy, all Slave Countries, may be 
said to be not very distant from the borders of Abyssinia. 

Wednesday, Dec. 29 — Two Moors, who said that 
they belonged to the College, called and requested the loan 
of an Arabic Bible ; saying, that if it should be approved, 
they would purchase several copies. One of them refused 
to sit down; giving as his reason, that the other was his 
superior. 

I made arrangements for proceeding to Susa. For myself, 
two boxes of the Scriptures, provisions, and other luggage, 
three mules will be required. The expense is seventy piastres 
(about SI. sterling), for the journey thither and back, and to 
remain three days in Susa. The distance between Tunis 
and Susa is about 100 miles. 

Thursday, Dec. 30— Several Moors called : and, pulling 
about the Arabic Scriptures, endeavoured to obtain copies. 
I lent two Bibles to two of them who appeared to be the 
most respectable. 



504 



A PPEN DIX. 



VISIT TO SUSA. 

I set out for Susa at two p.m.; and arrived at the town of 
Suly man at seven in the evening, having travelled at the rate 
of about three-miles-and-a-half an hour. The road is level, 
nearly the whole of the way. It lies between the Lake and 
the Roads of Tunis on the east, and a mountainous country 
on the west. We passed the village of Rhades, the ancient 
Ades, at the distance, as nearly as I could judge, of about a 
mile on our left ; and the Hot Baths, called Hammam Leef, 
at the distance of a few hundred yards on our right. These 
Baths are much resorted to by the Tunisines, and are said to 
be very efficacious in a variety of complaints. Between 
Sulyman and Tunis there is a good deal of traffic. 

Friday, Dec. 31, 1824— We left Sulyman at eight o'clock 
this morning ; and, continuing our route in a southerly direc- 
tion, arrived at Hamamet about two in the afternoon. Im- 
mediately after leaving Sulyman, we entered on a fine plain 
of several miles extent. The soil appeared rich ; and this 
plain has been mentioned to me in Tunis as one which pro- 
duces a great quantity of corn. At the extremity of it, there 
is a small inhabited village. Shortly after passing this, the 
road lies through olive-grounds, and a country partly culti- 
vated and partly waste. A few ruins, memorials of Roman 
Colonies, are seen here and there ; and I observed, as we 
passed along, a simple piece of mosaic pavement. Within a 
few miles of Hamamet, the road for some distance becomes 
rugged ; but it is not so bad, but that it may be passed in the 
Moorish Carts, which are sometimes used for travelling. The 
surrounding country is bold and picturesque. Hamamet is 
a small town, situated at the bottom of a gulf of that name. 
It is spoken of as formerly a place of some consideration. 

Saturday, Jan. 1, 1825 — I intended to sleep last night at 
Hamamet : my guide, however, informed me that a caravan, 
which had arrived from Tunis, would set forward in the even- 
ing, and asked me if I should like to accompany it. Agree- 
ing to his proposal, we left Hamamet at seven o'clock. The 
caravan consisted of about fifteen camels ; and a number of 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 505 
asses, on which the conductors of the caravan for the most 
part rode. Our guides were all armed. The road is at a short 
distance from the sea. After traversing the immense plain 
which lies between Hamamet and Herkla, we arrived within 
two or three miles of Herkla at day-light this morning. The 
whole distance occupied nearly twelve hours ; and we had 
performed it, as is customary with the Arabs, without stop- 
ping. It is considered a long day's journey. Feeling very 
much fatigued, I would gladly have alighted at this place; but 
as the caravan proceeded, and my guide shewed no inclination 
to stop, I made no remonstrance. We rested, however, for 
about an hour, on an uncultivated plain, about two miles 
further ; and arrived at Susa at one o'clock in the afternoon. 

I was very kindly received by the English Vice-Consul, 
Seignior N. Manucci; and by his partner in business, Carlo 
Moro, who is the English Agent at Sfax, but is at present 
residing at Susa. I met also, at the house of these Gentle- 
men, a Genoese Merchant of the name of Pagliano. 

The town of Susa is pleasantly situated, the greater part 
of it being on the declivity of a hill, and contiguous to the 
sea. There is no Port ; and vessels are, consequently, obliged 
to lie in the open Roads. 

The city appeared to me to be about a mile-and-a-half in 
circumference. It is surrounded by a wall, and has the ad- 
ditional protection of two or three castles. A large Mosque 
in it, occupies a considerable space : besides this Mosque, 
there are several smaller. Seignior Manucci and others esti- 
mate the population at 20,000: of this number, 1000 maybe 
Jews. I was informed that they are not ill-treated, as in 
Tunis ; the inhabitants of Susa being more liberal in their 
views. This liberality may be chiefly attributed to a more 
extensive intercourse with Europeans, than is enjoyed in 
Tunis, in proportion to the extent of population. It is said, 
also, that the Kiaya is very severe; and that he listens 
to the slightest complaints against Moors, punishing delin- 
quents both corporally and by fine. I was informed that he 
farms the situation for the annual sum of 60,000 piastres; and 



500 APPENDIX. 

that, besides this sum, he has occasionally to make conside- 
rable presents. 

There are three Christian Families established in Susa ; 
two of which are Italians or the children of Italian Parents, 
and one Maltese. Several of them seemed to speak Arabic 
as fluently as their own language ; quite as readily as an edu- 
cated native of Malta speaks Italian. They have no School, 
nor any stated religious instruction. Besides these three 
families, there are about ten unmarried individuals, or such 
as are not permanent residents, and consequently have not 
their families with them. Among this number there are six 
or seven Maltese. The whole number of Christians consists 
of about thirty souls. 

In answer to inquiries relative to Slavery, Seignior Ma- 
nucci stated it as his opinion, that from 2000 to 3000 Negro 
Slaves are annually brought to Susa. Many arrive in boats 
from Tripoli. He thought it not unlikely that there may 
sometimes be Christians among them ; but said, that, without 
understanding their language, it would be very difficult to 
ascertain the fact. They are all sold, as being of other reli- 
gions than the Mahomedan ; because it is contrary to the 
Mahomedan Law that Mahomedans should be dealt with as 
Slaves. 

Sunday, Jan. 2, 1825 — Seignior Manucci, his partner, and 
Seignior Pagliano, set off for Monasteer. I spoke to them 
of the sinfulness of making the Sabbath a day of business. 
They did not attempt to justify it ; but urged the necessity of 
the case, as an apology, not for this single instance, but for 
conforming generally to the custom of the country in this par- 
ticular. It being probable that Seignior Pagliano might not 
return from Monasteer before my sailing from Tunis, I sold 
him, at his request, an Italian Bible. While standing by my 
side, he said, in reference to Bible-Society Objects, apologiz- 
ing at the same time for the question, " Is it possible, that 
you are travelling only for this object?" — meaning, probably, 
that it was too disinterested to be believed. I replied that I 
was travelling for general information ; and that I had re- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 507 

ceived the Scriptures in various languages, from the Com- 
mittee of the Bible Society in Malta, for sale or gratuitous 
distribution, according to circumstances. He stated that such 
a book, in some parts of Italy, would be worth thirty francs. 
I gave him a copy of the Arabic Genesis, which he expressed 
a wish to have an opportunity of shewing to some persons in 
Genoa. 

A Maltese, whom I had known in Malta, having called on 
me, I gave him some Italian Tracts, and spoke to him of the 
duty of reading the Scriptures. 

Monday, January 3 — I sent out copies of the Scriptures, 
by a young Jew, in the employ of the English Vice-Consul. 
The heads of two of the Christian Families immediately pur- 
chased two Italian Bibles, one Arabic Bible, and one Italian 
Testament. The Collector of the Customs, a Mahomedan, 
sent a man to request specimens of all that I had in Arabic, 
for inspection ; and stated that he would purchase, if the 
books should please him. Another Moor also sent to request 
the loan of an Arabic Bible. The same difficulties were 
started by the Jews here, with reference to the Hebrew Bible, 
as in Tunis : the Rabbies found an additional objection in the 
words, " Posteriores, Prophetae," which they translated, "The 
New Prophets ;" and said that they knew of no New Pro- 
phets. An aged Rabbi called; and, passing his finger down 
the Hebrew Text, said that that was good. He refused 
either the gift or the loan of a Hebrew Testament. 

It is not unpleasing to observe the great jealousy of the 
Jews with regard to the purity of the text of the Sacred 
Records : and it may be used as an argument, in conversing 
with Mahomedans, against their opinion that the Scriptures 
have been adulterated. 

There were eight merchant-vessels lying in the Roads of 
Susa — six French, one Spanish, and one Genoese. I visited 
four of them, but only succeeded in selling one French Tes- 
tament. The roughness of the weather prevented me from 
going on board such of the remainder of them as were in 
pratique. None of the seamen could read ; and the two 
Captains, with whom I spoke, manifested great indifference 



501 J APPENDIX; 

to their having opportunities of either hearing or reading the 
Holy Scriptures. 

In walking through the town, a part was pointed out to me 
in which Slaves are sold : I was also shewn a small Foudok, 
or Caravansera, in which they are kept, from the time of their 
arrival till they are sold or transmitted to other places. The 
few rooms, allotted for this purpose, which I saw, were very 
small and confined : there were no slaves in any to which I 
was admitted. 

Meeting two Negroes outside the walls of the Town, I 
spoke to them by means of a young man who accompanied 
me. They said that they were both free; the one having 
been liberated by the British Consul in Tripoli, and the 
other by a Son of the Bey. They mentioned Bornou as the 
country from which they had been brought. Speaking of the 
way in which Slaves are taken, they said that their Chiefs go 
to war with one another, and sell their prisoners. The one 
who had been liberated by the British Consul, stated that 
he was very young when he was brought from his country, 
and that he was kidnapped while wandering at a distance 
from his home : he added, that Slaves sometimes endeavour 
to escape to the British Consulate in Tripoli ; and that many 
die from thirst during the journey from the interior. 

I gave an Arabic Genesis to an old Moor, for his son, who 
could read Arabic : it was afterward told me that this son was 
a Schoolmaster. 

A Native Jew, who called upon Seignior Manucci in the 
evening, asked for the Hebrew Testament. When he came 
to the account of the birth of our Saviour, he laid down the 
book, and began to laugh. I spoke to him of the institution 
of sacrifices, and of the frequent use of blood in their Ser- 
vices ; and, turning to the Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah, asked 
him of whom the Prophet spake : he made no reply. After 
quoting the passage, The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come — I 
stated, that, at the time that Jesus Christ appeared in the 
world, there was a general expectation of the Messiah among 
the Jews ; because their learned men knew that the pro- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 509 
phecies relating to Him were drawing near to their accom- 
plishment: " either, therefore," I said, " Christ was the true 
Messiah, or your prophecies are" — anticipating me, he added, 
" false" — " for you have now been without rule for above 
eighteen hundred years." He made no other answer, but 
that he would send a Rabbi to converse with me. 

The servant of the Consul, a Jew, who had been standing 
by, said, a short time afterward, that Jews exist as an inde- 
pendent nation in some part of the East, beyond a certain 
river, and that all Mussulmans are supernaturally prevented 
from entering their country. When I mentioned that the 
Ten Tribes had never returned from the Babylonish Capti- 
vity, he immediately caught the idea as helping his remark ; 
as though some of the Captivity possessed power in the 
countries to which they had been taken. Speaking to him 
of the vanity of their expectations, he feelingly replied, " He 
will come; and perhaps these eyes may behold him, and we 
shall be avenged on our oppressors" — or in words of similar 
import. The same observation, and in a similar manner, had 
been made to me in Bizerta, by one of the Jews there. 

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 1825 — One of the individuals, who sent 
for an Arabic Bible, returned it. Two Moors called, and 
read in the Book of Genesis. Coming to the words in the 
Second Chapter, And he rested on the seventh day from all his 
work which he had ?nade, they immediately stopped ; and said, 
rather angrily, that God could not feel fatigued, and that 
Sidna Musa (our Lord Moses) had not written that book. 1 
was proceeding to reply, but they would not wait, but went 
out. 

The Mahomedan Schoolmaster, to whom I had sent an 
Arabic Genesis, came and read for a short time in the 
Arabic Bible. In the evening, Seignior Manucci sent for him 
again : he took up the Bible, and began to read aloud. He 
said that he had read the principal part of the Book of 
Genesis. He made the same objections as the other two 
Mahomedans to the words rested on the seventh day: I said 
that the words were, in my opinion, to be considered as 
simply meaning, that, on the seventh day, the work was com- 



510 APPENDIX. 

pleted, and the Creator therefore ceased from it. He also 
objected to the 27th verse of the First Chapter — So God 
created man in his own image, &c. ; observing that the pas- 
sage in Arabic would bear the signification, u equal to 
himself:" I replied, that the words had reference to the 
superiority of man over every other creature ; and spoke of 
his reasoning faculties, and the immortality of the soul, as 
resemblances of the Deity : he acquiesced in this interpreta- 
tion. He was much pleased with the Ten Commandments ; 
and, stopping at the third, he seemed to understand that it 
condemns their practice of using the Name of God on the 
most trivial occasions. I turned to the Psalms and the Book 
of Proverbs: with parts of the Proverbs he seemed much 
delighted, saying repeatedly, " Good, good." But what 
appeared to make the greatest impression on him, was the 
Sermon on the Mount : he read the greater part of the Fifth 
Chapter of St. Matthew ; and, turning down the leaf, said 
that he should like to take a copy of it : I pointed out, par- 
ticularly, the 33d to the 37th verses, ending, But let your con- 
versation he yea, yea, nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than 
these, cometh of evil: from what he said, I perceived that he 
fully understood the spirit of the passage. He expressed no 
disapprobation ; but his spirit seemed to rise against the 
principle of overcoming evil with good, which I stated to be 
the meaning of the passage, But whosoever shall smite thee on 
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 

During our reading, the Mahomedan Mufti sent for copies 
of the Arabic Bible and Book of Genesis ; saying, as usual, 
that he would purchase, if he should like them. 

A Mahomedan, it is to be observed, professes to do every 
thing in the Name of God ; but this injunction of their reli- 
gion does not sanction their constant practice of using that 
Name in the way of interrogation and asseveration. This 
they do in common discourse, and mean no more than 
" Indeed!" or, " Is it so " Yes." 

It is to be lamented that both Jews and professing Chris- 
tians, in this country, are highly culpable in this respect ; and, 
in conversing with Mahomedans, instead of rather reproving 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 511 

them, seem designedly to pay them the compliment of imi- 
tating their evil habit. 

Wednesday, Jan, 5, 1825 — Seignior Manucci stated that 
his partner and himself are in the frequent habit of visiting 
Monasteer and Mehdia. Monasteer is about eight miles and 
Mehdia twenty -five to the south-east of S usa 5 both of them 
sea-ports. Each, it is said, contains about 20,000 inhabitants. 
They are, with Susa, the principal depots of oil. There are 
no Christians resident in either of these towns. 

I was informed that about 200 vessels arrive, annually, on 
the eastern coast of the Kingdom of Tunis. They are 
chiefly French. This number appeared to me considerable, 
and may probably be somewhat over-rated : it is, in a great 
measure, regulated by the demands for oil, and the opportu- 
nity of furnishing the quantity required. 

I deposited with Seignior Manucci nearly two boxes full 
of the Scriptures; chiefly in Arabic, Italian, French, and 
Hebrew. He stated that he should have opportunities of 
promoting their circulation in Susa, Monasteer, Mehdia, and 
Sfax. In Susa, he intended to employ the Mahomedan 
Schoolmaster already spoken of; making him, as I authorised 
him to do, an allowance on sales. He engaged to correspond 
with the Committee of the Bible Society in Malta. 

I was able to obtain but little information relative to Sfax. 
It contains, they say, about 20,000 inhabitants. There is 
only one resident Christian : he acts as English Agent during 
the absence of Seignior Carlo Moro. Sponge is one of the 
principal articles of export. 

RETURN TO TUNIS. 

Atone p.m. I left Susa, to return to Tunis. We arrived 
at Herkla, at half-past-four ; and found a caravan of twelve 
camels, which was to set forward at some hour in the night. 
The caravansera is a very wretched one : it consists of a few 
hovels round a court-yard. That which fell to the lot of 
myself and my guides, was about fifteen feet long and nine 
feet wide ; and was some inches deep in sand, for there was 
no floor. Herkla is the Heraclea of the Romans, and is con- 
jectured to be the Adrumetwn of earlier times. An account 



512 APPENDIX. 

of the present Ruins may be seen in the travels of Dr. 
Shaw. 

Thursday, Jan. 6, 1 825— -We set out from Herkla two hours 
after midnight. At day-light, we were still traversing the 
plain of Hamamet. The weather had been threatening for 
three or four days, and the rain this morning came down in 
torrents ; continuing with but few intermissions, during the 
remainder of the day. We arrived near Hamamet at one 
o'clock : and, leaving it on our right, continued our route 
for Sulyman, which we reached, with difficulty, about an 
hour-and-a-half after sun-set. 

Friday, Jan. 7 — It rained almost incessantly during the 
greater part of the night, and there was no appearance of 
more favourable weather this morning. We, therefore, 
started from Sulyman, at ten o'clock a. m. ; and, after a 
wet ride of four hours, arrived in Tunis at two in the 
afternoon. 

Sunday, Jan. 9 — Called on the Greek Priest ; and found 
his son, a young man of about twenty years of age, just reco- 
covering from a severe illness. He had but lately arrived 
from Malta. Referring to my return thither, I felt it inex- 
pressibly painful to be congratulated on the approaching 
diversions of the Carnival in that island, by one, with the hue 
of death scarcely removed from his countenance, and in 
words almost unintelligible from weakness. 

Monday, Jan. 10 — The SherifFe D'Ghis called, and re- 
mained some time. He gave me a variety of information 
relative to the condition of this country. He stated, that 
there are generally about 600 Students in the principal Ma- 
homedan College of Tunis : they study Theology and Juris- 
prudence. There are a few other Seminaries of minor im- 
portance ; and individuals may also enjoy the means of re- 
ceiving private instruction. He thought that Mahomedans 
would send their children, if a School were established ; to 
learn, for instance, English. Speaking of Books of Elemen- 
tary Instruction, he said that he should give the preference to 
Universal History, rather than to the Fables of Lokmann or 
others, because these Fables require explanation. He also 



VISIT TO TUNIS, 518 

recommended that instruction should be gratuitous, as being 
the only way of obtaining scholars. 

The principal Sects of Mahomedans the Sheriffe stated to 
be four — the Hanafy, the Malaky, the Shaafu, and the Han- 
plu : only the first two are found in Barbary : the others are 
met with in Egypt. There is another small Sect, confined al- 
most entirely to the Island of Gerbe; a small island adjacent 
to the coast, and near the division between the Regencies of 
Tunis and Tripoli: their distinguishing tenet he represented 
to be, that God never pardons a crime. Other Mahomedans 
think that the Almighty is more merciful ; and, therefore, al- 
though the opinions of this Sect tend to the good order of 
Society, they are disliked by the other Sects, on account of 
the rigidness of this doctrine. The difference between the 
four above-mentioned Sects, he represented as inconside- 
rable. They all have their separate books — text and com- 
mentary. That of the Hanafy, is called Alkanz : its com- 
mentary, Albahaa— -that of the Maluky, Mohtejjer Xalel: its 
commentary, Zorkany — that of the Shaafu, En Shrjah : its 
commentary, Sujooty. The name of the fourth he did not 
recollect. 

To the Zenati and Showiah, the Sheriffe added the siieliiy 
as another dialect of North Africa*. He stated the languages 
of the interior to be the Bornoo, the Borgnoo, the Bagermy, 
the Hawsa, and the Tomboktoo : he had some knowledge of 
all but the last : there is a resemblance among them. He 
thought it would not be difficult to find Natives, who might be 
able to assist in the compilation of Grammars and Vocabu- 
laries of these languages. They have none of them been 
reduced to a written standard. The Arabic is used for cor- 
respondence. 

The Sheriffe inquired if any thing further had been done 
by Mr. Wilberforce relative to Slavery; and said that when 

* Concerning this Dialect, Shaw has the following Note: — "The 
language of the mountaineers in S. W. Barbary is called Shillah, 
differing in some words from the Showiah : but the meaning of the 
names I could never learn ; unless perhaps they were called after 
some considerable clans, who might be either the Authors or Con- 
servators of them." (Shaw's Travels, p. 289. Note.) 

L L 



514 APPENDIX. 

in England he had corrected a paper on the subject. Having 
informed me that he had distributed the five copies of the 
Book of Genesis, in Tunis, and that he had been lending the 
Arabic Bible to his friends, I placed at his disposal five more 
copies of Genesis for circulation at Sidi Buseid. 

Calling on the Danish Consul, I met there a French Gen- 
tleman, who superintends a manufacture of gunpowder for 
the Bey. Asking if I was the person who had " the books," 
he stated that he should like to purchase a Bible, in order 
that, by reading it all through, he might know what is in it. 
I related to him the operations of the Bible Society, and spoke 
of the Protestant Bible Society at Paris. He replied, that the 
Catholics of France are Protestants rather than Catholics ; 
that their religion is more simple, more easy — they have fewer 
rites and ceremonies. With reference to Italy, he said that 
the religious state of it arises from the ignorance and inter- 
estedness of the Clergy. He added, that they oppose educa- 
tion, because of its being their interest to maintain " certain 
doctrines;" by which expression L he meant, such as can only 
be upheld by ignorance: but, probably in his view, some of 
the true doctrines of Christianity would have been condemned 
as well as the superstitions of Popery. I replied, that true 
Christianity invites inquiry ; and spoke of the great benefit 
which would result to every nation from the general circula- 
tion of the Holy Scriptures. He said that he had seen Priests 
in Sicily, ragged, and sitting with a hat between their knees 
for the purpose of collecting money before saying Mass. 

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1825 — In the evening, called on the late 
American Consul, Dr. Heape. Neither this Gentleman, nor the 
present Consul, Mr. Cox, was at home ; but I passed a plea- 
sant evening in conversation with their ladies. Mrs. Cox is a 
native of Malta; but had been nine years in America. She 
was much gratified by hearing of the establishment of Schools 
in Malta ; and expressed her surprise that more had not been 
done for the benefit of the population, in this respect, in for- 
mer years. 

Wednesday, Jan. 12 — Several Moors called, to endeavour 
to obtain copies of the Scriptures; but, having been de- 



VISIT TO TUNIS. 515 

ceived by them in some instances, and finding that their 
most solemn protestations are not deserving of the slightest 
credit, I refused to let them have any, unless they would with- 
draw the stipulation which they wished to impose upon me- — 
of returning their money, if they should not like to retain the 
books. 

Thursday, Jan. 13 — Left Tunis for the Goletta. Mr. 
Tulin was so kind as to accompany me to the Marina. On 
the way, he stated that if a School were established, he was 
sure that all the Christians would send their children. He 
said, also, that they should be glad to have a Clergyman, 
rather than be under the necessity of availing themselves of 
the services of the Greek Priest. 

RETURN TO MALTA. 

Thursday, Jan. 14 — Sailed from the Roads of Tunis ; 
and arrived in Malta, on Wednesday January 19th, after a 
pleasant voyage of four days. 

A fellow-passenger, a native of some part of Italy, but 
many years established in Tunis, informed me that he had 
been in the habit of doing business with the Gadamsi, or in- 
habitants of Gadamis, the great mart for trade and for 
slaves, above alluded to. They purchase, for the interior of 
Africa, small beads, cochineal, and silk. He said that 1500 
would be a fair estimate of the average number of Slaves 
annually brought to Tunis. He corroborated information, 
received from other sources, relative to the fact, that the 
price of these poor creatures has been greatly reduced during 
late years: probably not solely on account of the present war 
between the Turks and the Greeks; but in consequence, also, 
of the determination manifested by Great Britain, to use her 
utmost efforts for the extinction of all slavery. 



THE END= 



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